Maharashtra Government Formation: NCP chief Sharad Pawar to meet Sonia Gandhi to discuss

Amid the ongoing political crisis in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar on Monday will meet Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi to discuss government formation. 

Sharad Pawar arrived in Delhi on Monday morning to attend the first day of the winter session of Parliament and will meet Sonia Gandhi at 4:00 in the afternoon. The decision on government formation in Maharashtra may be finalised today as the NCP and Congress chiefs are scheduled to meet. 

NCP Chief Sharad Pawar arrives in Delhi, to hold meeting with Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi at 4pm today. pic.twitter.com/E51KXR8WiU

— ANI (@ANI) November 18, 2019

Mumbai NCP President Nawab Malik on Sunday informed that Pawar and Gandhi will meet on Monday after holding a meeting with the senior party leaders. 

We had a discussion over the current political situation in Maharashtra and have come to a conclusion that the President’s rule must go. An Alternative government should be formed in the state. For this, Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi will meet in Delhi on Monday,” Malik said.

Earlier, the NCP supremo had said that Congress and NCP will form a government in Maharashtra there is no possibility of the mid-term elections. 

NCP and Congress leaders in Maharashtra held a joint meeting in Mumbai to discuss the common minimum programme (CMP).

Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan had earlier informed that the first priority is to work out the modalities of CMP which will be approved by the party’s high command in Delhi.

Shiv Sena and NCP have asked the Congress to join the government as well. Earlier, Congress had decided to provide only support from the outside but now sources have informed that they might join the government.

In 2019 Maharashtra assembly elections, BJP and Shiv Sena had contested the polls together and won 105 and 56 seats, respectively. While, NCP and Congress alliance won 54 and 44 seats, respectively. 

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However, after a huge tussle between Shiv Sena and BJP over power-sharing, Sena headed for an alternative government formation with NCP and Congress.