As Shiv Sena is kept dangling, Cong-NCP to meet again

New Delhi, Nov 20: The Congress and the NCP would hold another round of talks on the formation of a government in Maharashtra. The state is currently under President's rule after no party has been able to form the government for the want of numbers.

There have been several rounds of talks between the Congress and NCP, but they have remained inconclusive. Sources tell OneIndia that it is the Congress that is not too keen on allying with the Shiv Sena. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has not been able to convince Sonia Gandhi as yet on the alliance.

The source said that Sonia, in particular, is not happy with the common minimum programme. She would want to have a re-look at the same before making any commitments. However, she is under pressure from the MLAs as many would want to form the government in the state.

The meeting of the NCP and Congress would be crucial and a final call could be taken. The meeting is scheduled to be held later today. The meeting would be attended by Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel, Ajit Pawar, Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjun Kharge, Prithviraj Chavan among others.

The leaders are meeting to give a final shape to the common minimum programme, following which further deliberations will be held with the Shiv Sena. The Sena on the other hand has summoned all its MLAs for a meeting on Friday. The top leadership has assured the MLAs that the deal would come through and after Friday's meeting, they would stake a claim to form the government along with the NCP and Congress.