The Shiv Sena on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party of “deriving sadistic pleasure” out of the political logjam in Maharashtra. In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Shiv Sena said the party claims to follow ethics and morals but is creating the greatest amount of chaos and disruption in the state.

President’s Rule was imposed in Maharashtra on Tuesday after the Shiv Sena failed to get the signatures of 145 MLAs to prove that it had a majority in the Assembly. Late on Tuesday, the Sena decided to approach the Supreme Court against Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s decision to allow it just 24 hours to prove the numbers.

The Shiv Sena had made efforts to form an alliance with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to get the numbers. However, it has so far failed to do so because of the reluctance and indecision of the Congress about joining the alliance.

“Though horse-trading has not yet begun in Maharashtra, steps are being taken to do it,” the Shiv Sena alleged on Wednesday. “The imposition of President’s Rule is a part of that process. This attitude of ‘my way or the highway’ following the election results is not good for the state. The people’s mandate is not being respected, it is an insult to them.”

“If a party with 105 MLAs [BJP] could not form the government, others would struggle for sure,” the editorial said. “But it does not mean the largest party should rejoice. This attitude of deriving sadistic pleasure has pushed Maharashtra into today’s situation.”

The Shiv Sena said that while the BJP was allowed 15 days to try to form a government, the governor hardly allotted it 24 hours to do the same. “This is called the misuse of the official machinery,” the Shiv Sena said, pointing out that the 44 Congress MLAs were in Jaipur and the governor still wanted all 145 signatures within 24 hours.

“Despite having a clear idea that three parties [Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party] need to coordinate properly, the Raj Bhavan gave only 24 hours and on failure, the BJP was seen rejoicing,” the editorial said. “This is not a good sign.”

The Shiv Sena also alleged that the decision of the BJP to sit in the Opposition was part of a conspiracy. “The mandate was for the BJP and Shiv Sena,” the editorial said. “Had the BJP kept its promise, we would have not searched for an alternative. The BJP talks of being a party of principles, morality and civility, then it should have followed it after the Assembly elections.”

The BJP won 105 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, results of which were declared on October 24. The Shiv Sena won 56 seats, the Nationalist Congress Party 54 seats and the Congress 44. The BJP, however, refused to accept the Shiv Sena’s contention that they had agreed before the Lok Sabha elections that there would be a 50:50 power-sharing deal between the two parties. It also rejected the Shiv Sena’s demand for the chief minister’s post for 2.5 years, leading to a rupture in the alliance.

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