Published 09:47 IST, November 22nd 2019
Sources: Shiv Sena, NCP, INC aren’t on the same page on Maha alliance name; options here
In a recent development with the NCP-Sena-INC story, it has been reported that the parties are unable to come to an agreement over the name for their alliance
Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Indian National Congress (INC) have been unable to agree upon a name of their newly forged alliance, according to sources. Reportedly, an official name is expected to be announced soon. The parties, however, have still not been unable to come to terms and form a government in Maharashtra, revealed sources close to Sena.
Disagreement over alliance name
The Sena had suggested 'Maha Shiv Aghadi', which was rejected by its alliance partners, saying, they will not compromise on their ideology. Another name, 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' was also suggested. However, the parties were not able to come to a consensus on that as well.
The Shiv Sena broke its pre-poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) after the counting of the seats since the two strong heads were not able to reach an agreement over 50-50 seat sharing or CM post along with other portfolios. In the confusion that followed shortly after, Shiv Sena was seen cosying up to NCP for support. After much deliberation, Sena, NCP and the INC, along with some independent MLAs organised multiple marathon meetings in Mumbai and New Delhi to finalise a deal among them. However, no consensus has been reached so far. The state is still under Governor's rule for now.
It has been reported that Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray is not keen on becoming the Chief Minister of the State, however, leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Indian National Congress (INC) are still hopeful that the Shiv Sena Chief will change his mind about the position. In the late hours on Thursday, November 21, Shiv Sena had yet another meeting with the leaders of the NCP and INC, where Uddhav Thackeray reportedly made his intentions clear. Arvind Sawant and Subhash Desai are now the frontrunners to occupy Varsha Bungalow, as per information revealed by sources. The challenge for Thackeray is to get approvals from other senior leaders such as Eknath Shinde and Sanjay Raut for either Subhash Desai or Arvind Sawant to be the Chief Minister.
Updated 12:39 IST, November 22nd 2019