According to Sources Congress may not get into the “secular-communal” binary on delineating the reasons for having joined hands with Sena
Mumbai: The proposed three-party alliance in Maharashtra between ShivSena, NCP, and Congress earlier was named “Maha Shiv Aghadi” but it might be renamed as ‘Maharashtra Vikasa Aaghadi’ and will be guided by the “spirit of the Constitution” in the running of the government.
On Thursday the government formation between ideologically incompatible parties seem to be emerging after the Congress Working Committee met in Delhi. The CWC was preceded by a joint meeting with NCP and Congress.
According to Sources Congress may not get into the “secular-communal” binary on delineating the reasons for having joined hands with Sena. The emphasis would instead be laid on the “spirit of the Constitution as embodied in the Preamble” as the binding glue for the allies.
According to close sources, Congress leaders including Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, BalasahebThorat, Vijay Wadettivar, KC Padvi, Vishvjit Kadam, Satej Banti Patil, Sunil Kedar, and others are likely to be inducted in the state cabinet. From the NCP, Jayant Patil, Nawab Malik, Hasan Mushrif, Anil Deshmukh, Dhananjay Munde, Chagan Bhujbal, Ajit Pawar, Dilip Vasel Patil, Makrad Patil, Rajesh Tope, and others may be inducted into the cabinet.
The Congress-NCP alliance on Wednesday gave its most categorical indication about joining hands with arch-rival Shiv Sena, with former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan expressing confidence in forming a “stable” government soon in the state after a meeting of senior leaders of the two parties.
While the Congress leader hoped that political uncertainty will soon end in Maharashtra, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik was unambiguous about the need to join hands with the Sena, asserting that a government cannot be formed in the state without the three parties come together. This is the most emphatic public statement by the Congress-NCP combine about their intent to join hands with the Sena to form a government.
However, Congress sources asserted that the issue of rotational chief ministership did not come up during the discussion with the NCP. On Thursday the two parties will have another round of meeting to give final touches to the contours of the alliance.
On Friday there will be discussions between the ShivSena and the Congress-NCP alliance in Mumbai following which an announcement on government formation will be made.
Earlier, speaking to reporters after the nearly four-hour-long meeting at NCP supremo Sharad Pawar’s residence here, both Chavan and Malik said the current spell of President’s rule in the state has brought the administration to a standstill, and the two parties are confident of ending this.
Senior Congress leaders Ahmad Patel and Mallikarjun Kharge were part of the deliberations held at Pawar’s residence. Earlier in the day, Pawar had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss farmers’ issues in Maharashtra. Chavan, though, added that some aspects of the likely alliance are still being discussed.
“We had a long and positive discussion… We are confident that we will soon be able to give a stable government in Maharashtra,” he said. Later, the Congress leaders met party president Sonia Gandhi. They again returned for a fresh round of meeting with the NCP leaders at around 10 pm that lasted for over an hour.
Talking to reporters, ShivSena leader Sanjay Raut said he is constantly updating party chief Uddhav Thackeray and Aaditya Thackeray on the developments in Delhi. The ShivSena leader also attended a meeting with Pawar on Wednesday.
“The NCP and the Congress have clearly said that three parties will come together. All three parties have to make a Common Minimum Programme and how will it be implemented in the state this is being deliberated in these meetings,” he said. Sanjay Raut also asserted that the process of government formation will not be delayed any further.
The state was facing a political crisis since the Sena broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after its partner refused to accede to its demand for sharing the chief minister’s post.
Both the BJP and Sena fought assembly polls in an alliance, had secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member assembly. The Congress and the NCP, pre-poll allies, won 44 and 54 seats, respectively. The ShivSena then began talks with the Congress-NCP alliance.
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