Locked in the game of 'who will blink first' with the Shiv Sena, senior Maharashtra BJP leaders on Tuesday met to deliberate upon the strategy for the government formation in the state where it emerged as the single largest party but is yet to stake claim to form government. 

After the meeting, attended by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, state unit president Chandrakant Patil and state minister Sudhir Mungantiwar among others, the party leaders expressed confidence of forming the government. 

Mungantiwar said they will wait for the Shiv Sena but it will be a BJP government in Maharashtra. 

"We had a comprehensive discussion, we will wait for Shiv Sena but the government will be ours only. There is no 'if' and 'but' here, you will get the news anytime that we are forming the government," he said. 

Patil said the mandate given by the people was for a BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and they will honour that mandate.

People have given the mandate to BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, we will honour that mandate and form government," he said, adding that the Shiv Sena is yet to give any proposal. 

"BJP's doors are always open for Shiv Sena," he added.

While the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 105 MLAs in the October-21 election, its alliance partner Shiv Sena won 56 seats. The NCP and the Congress have 54 and 44 seats, respectively. 

Soon after the BJP core group meeting, Fadnavis left to meet RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Nagpur. 

The BJP claims to have the support of 121 members, including independents and leaders from other smaller parties, in the 288-member assembly.

Earlier, Shiv Sena sources said its Plan B of placing its own Chief Minister with the support from the NCP has now become its first priority. The Shiv Sena's Plan A involves forming a government of its own with support from the NCP and the Congress and keeping the BJP, the single-largest party in Maharashtra, out of power. 

Congress is crucial for this plan as Shiv Sena cannot achieve the halfway mark of 145 without with just 56 of its own and 54 of NCP MLAs.