As Maharashtra assembly was slated to be dissolved by Sunday midnight, state governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari asked Devendra Fadnavis to show his willingness to form the government in the state.

“The Governor of Maharashtra Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari today asked the leader of elected members of the single largest party, the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shri Devendra Fadnavis to indicate the willingness and ability of his party to form the government in Maharashtra,” an official statement said.

“Elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were held on 21st October and the results were declared on 24th October. However, despite the passage of 15 days, no single party or alliance of parties has come forward to form the government,” it said.

Fadnavis resigned as Maharashtra Chief Minister on Friday with no sign of a new government, with the paryy and its ally Shiv Sena inching no closer to an agreement to form the government. Fadnavis met with Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to hand in his resignation hours before the midnight deadline for government formation.

Sena leader Sanjay Raut said Koshyari’s decision to ask the BJP to indicate its willingness to form the government is a welcome step. “At least the governor has begun the process of exploring government formation. The BJP is the single largest party and the rightful claimant to form the government first,” he said.

However, The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), said the governor’s decision has come late and it would vote against the BJP if there is a floor test. NCP chief spokesperson Nawab Malik said that his party can think of an “alternative” if the Sena too voted against the BJP.”The Governor has initiated the process late. He should have done it earlier,” Malik said.

The state is caught in an impasse over government formation as the BJP and Sena, who together won enough seats in the October 21 state elections to come to power, are locked in a bitter tussle over the chief minister’s post.