Amid reports of rift, Uddhav Thackeray meets alliance partners

New Delhi, May 27: Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting of his alliance partners the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress amid reports of rifts within the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Speculations were after a meeting between the Chief Minister and his ally Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Both the Shiv Sena and NCP denied any divide but a comment by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, appearing to distance himself from decision-making in Maharashtra and ascribing only a supporting role to his party, stirred more trouble.

Dismissing any rumors of a rift in the alliance, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, who attended the meeting, said Pawar and Thackeray discussed the COVID situation. "The Maha Vikas Aghadi government will complete its five-year term and we will fight the elections together after five years," he said.

However, there is discontenment over Thackeray's strategy for easing the lockdown. With over 53,000 cases, the state has the biggest caseload in the country.