Government formation in Maharashtra: Sharad Pawar, Sonia Gandhi to meet

Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP supremo Sharad Pawar are likely to meet in Delhi on November 17 to discuss a possible alliance with the Shiv Sena for forming government in Maharashtra, sources said. The Congress and NCP would work out a common minimum programme (CMP) with the Sena, which would then be discussed in the meeting between Gandhi and Pawar, sources said on Thursday.

It was, however, not clear whether and when Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will meet the two leaders after the CMP is finalised. A 10-member coordination committee of the Congress and NCP met here on Wednesday to hold preliminary discussions on the CMP. According to sources, Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat and state NCP president Jayant Patil met Thackeray here on Thursday morning, as decided in the meeting of the coordination committee.

"They (Thorat and Patil) held preliminary discussion with Thackeray. Now state leaders of the three parties will meet again here on Thursday to prepare the document (CMP) which will be sent for the approval of the respective top leadership of the three parties," the sources said.

The BJP and Shiv Sena contested the October 21 Assembly polls together and won 105 and 56 seats, respectively, securing a comfortable majority in the 288- member house. The two parties, however, fell out after the Sena persisted with its demand of sharing the chief minister's post on a rotational basis, leading to the BJP to announce that it was in no position to stake claim to form government. After the Shiv Sena and NCP, second and third largest parties, too said they could not stake claim immediately, the state was placed under President's rule on Tuesday.