Maharashtra will get stable Govt in “two to five days”Says Cong- NCP
NEW DELHI : The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) said today that they would soon provide a stable government in Maharashtra but indicated that the terms of engagement with the Shiv Sena still has to be worked out.
Congress President Sonia Gandhi appears to have come around and finally given the green signal to the coalition with Shiv Sena and NCP for government formation in Maharashtra.
“There cannot be any government in Maharashtra without the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress. We are trying our best to resolve issues,” said NCP leader Nawab Malik, addressing the media along with Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who simply said the talks will continue.
For the final round of talks, the Shiv Sena leadership will come to Delhi, the Congress said. Chauhan added ballast by saying that they hope to form the government in Maharashtra soon. Certain specifics need to be thrashed out, he added
Sena’s Sanjay Raut, later gave a rough time frame, saying the state could have a government after the negotiations are over in “two to five days”. The Congress and NCP held discussions on Maharashtra hours after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar fueled speculation about a BJP master manoeuvre.
Top Congress leaders went to Sharad Pawar’s home while a senior Congress leader separately met the Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut.”Some details” of power sharing with the Sena need to be sorted out while a common minimum agenda is almost done, Congress sources said.
Sonia Gandhi had been reluctant to join hands with the ideologically contrasting and pro-Hindutva Shiv Sena, which fell out with long-time ally BJP after the two won the Maharashtra election together.
According to the deal in circulation, the Shiv Sena has to share chief ministership with the NCP, with its chief Uddhav Thackeray getting the first turn. Other details include two deputy chief ministers, one from the Congress. The Shiv Sena may also be asked to tone down its Hindutva rhetoric, which is anathema to the Congress. Earlier today, Sonia Gandhi was urged by Kerala ally Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) to snub the Sena.
Sources say what may have precipitated the Congress’s decision to bend on Sena is the meeting between PM Modi and Sharad Pawar this afternoon and reports that the NCP chief has been offered the post of President by the BJP in a track running parallel to the Sena-NCP-Congress talks. Two days ago, the PM had significantly praised the NCP during a debate in the Rajya Sabha.
The PM-Sharad Pawar meeting was ostensibly on the farm crisis in Maharashtra, but the 45-minute discussion also telegraphed a strong message to the Congress — that any more dilly-dallying could prove costly and the opportunity of ruling India’s commercial hub would be lost. After the meeting, Mr Pawar even tweeted about inviting PM Modi to a conference.
