Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday tendered his resignation while blaming the ally Shiv Sena for the impasse over government formation after the Assembly polls.

'The governor has accepted my resignation. I thank the people of Maharashtra for giving me the chance to serve them for the last five years,' Fadnavis said.

He denied the claims made by the Shiv Sena and asserted that 'in my presence', no decision had been taken by the two parties over sharing the chief minister's post.

The Sena had claimed that before the Lok Sabha polls, the two allies had decided to share the post of the chief minister in the next term for two-and-half-years each.

'I called Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray for breaking the impasse many times, but Uddhav ji did not take my calls,' Fadnavis claimed.

The Shiv Sena's 'policy' of not talking to the BJP but holding talks with the Opposition Congress and NCP was wrong, he said.

'The day poll results came, Uddhav ji said all options were open for forming the government. It was shocking for us. People had given the mandate for our alliance. In such circumstances, it was a big question for us that why he said that all options were open for him,' Fadnavis said.

The BJP has always respected Bal Thackeray's legacy, Fadnavis said, adding that the Sena was 'wrong' by criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We never spoke against Bal Thackeray and Uddhav Thackeray even when we contested against each other. But the way the Sena criticised our leader PM Narendra Modi, it has never been seen before. If they want to criticise our leaders, the question arises as to why we should run a government with such an ally,” he said.

Fadnavis added that the governor has asked him to serve as the caretaker chief minister.

“I won’t be able to make new governance decisions but will continue as the caretaker chief minister till a new government is formed,” he said.

Fadnavis submitted his resignation to governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

He also said that the BJP will form the next government in the state.

There was no headway in government formation even a fortnight after the Assembly poll results on October 24.

The BJP and Shiv Sena are locked in a tussle over the issue of the chief minister's post, resulting in a stalemate despite the Assembly poll results giving the alliance a combined seat strength of 161, way past the 145 majority mark in the 288-member House.

In the polls, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena-56, NCP-54 and the Congress won 44 seats.