'BJP cant form government without our help,' says Shiv Sena

Mumbai: Even as most exit polls conducted after the October 21 Maharashtra assembly elections predicted a comfortable majority for the BJP-led NDA, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said its ally BJP would not be able to form the next government without the support of the Uddhav Thackeray-led party.

Raut's statement comes on the eve of counting of votes for the high-stake polls.

The senior Sena leader also claimed that his party would win 100 out of the total 124 seats it had contested. The BJP had contested 164 seats, which include candidates of smaller allies fighting on its lotus symbol, out of the total 288 seats in the state.

While most of the exit polls have predicted a clear majority for the BJP-led alliance comprising the Sena and other parties, at least one such prediction gave the BJP a near-majority on its own. It predicted whopping 142 seats for the BJP and 102 for the Shiv Sena.

The simple majority mark in the state is 145.

"The BJP cannot form the next government without the help of the Shiv Sena, even if it wins only 4-5 seats," Raut said.