The NCP chief Sharad Pawar visited Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi on Monday to discuss the formation of government in Maharashtra with an alliance with Shiv Sena. Although, Pawar insisted on not discussing the Government formation in Maharashtra with Sonia Gandhi. But sources say that if all goes well, the coalition government of Maharashtra will have Uddhav Bal Thackeray as the Chief Minister and one Deputy Chief Minister each from NCP and Congress.
“We have discussed in detail the political situation in Maharashtra. We will keep an eye on the situation in Maharashtra. Congress and NCP leaders will hold further talks on the future course of action,” Pawar said.
They were not clear whether Uddhav Thackeray would be the Chief Minister for the full five-year term or there will be a rotation policy for the post. The three-party coalition to take charge of the state early next month with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray taking the wheels.
“Sharad Pawar met the Congress President on Monday and briefed her on the situation in Maharashtra. It was decided that in a day or two, representatives from NCP and Congress will meet in Delhi to discuss the way forward,” Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said in a tweet.
Uddhav Thackeray, who is expected to visit Delhi soon, has delayed his proposed visit on November 24 to Ayodhya to form a coalition government in Maharashtra with his allies.
Although unlike NCP, Congress is in no hurry to form the government with its ideological rival, Shiv Sena. “We are going in that direction but we will not hurry. We need clarity on some issues. There needs to be some clarity on the ideological front also,” a senior Congress leader said.
The Congress and the NCP, sources said that they will “drive a hard bargain” and extract their “pound of flesh” because the Sena “is not in a position to dictate terms anymore” after cutting ties with the BJP and NDA.
The BJP- Shiv Sena government failed due to Shiv Sena’s stance on Chief Minister’s Post and equal seats at the Cabinet. BJP won 105 seats in the 288-member assembly followed by Shiv Sena 56, NCP 54 and Congress 44.