The NCP and Congress held a meeting this evening to discuss how to partner with the Shiv Sena, which had recently ended its decades-old alliance with the BJP over a power tussle.
Earlier, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that all the obstacles that stalled talks of alliance formation in Maharashtra have been cleared, hinting that his party will form the government along with Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress in the state. Mr Raut said that a decision on the matter can be taken as early as tomorrow.
Meanwhile, NCP chief Sharad Pawar will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss farmers' crisis in the state. The two leaders will meet in parliament in the afternoon. The meeting is significant at a time Sharad Pawar's NCP is much sought after for an alliance that can take power in Maharashtra.
The Shiv Sena wanted a guarantee of 50:50 power-sharing, including rotational chief ministership, but the BJP rejected it.
In the October 21 Maharashtra polls, the BJP-Sena alliance had secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively in the 288-member Assembly. The Congress and the NCP, the pre-poll allies, had won 44 and 54 seats respectively.
