Sena-NCP-Congress meeting with Governor postponed

Mumbai, Nov 16: The Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress who have come together to form a government in the state will meet Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari today. It is, however, not clear if the alliance would stake government formation claim or not.

The meeting was supposed to take place at 4.30 pm but it has reportedly been postponed. Some reports say that the Governor has not confirmed the appointment.

The three parties on Thursday finalised the draft of the Common Minimum Programme for the alliance.

Many are raising eyebrows over the Congress and the Shiv Sena being part of the same alliance. Ideologically, the Sena and Congress and at the opposite ends of the spectrum. In fact, Congress was a little reluctant to be in the same alliance as Shiv Sena. NCP chief Sharad Pawar is likely to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Sunday in New Delhi.

Reports say that Sonia Gandhi was all that keen for the alliance but the state leaders wanted the alliance to form the government.

NCP has said the chief minister's post will go to the Shiv Sena, even as the Congress has remained mum of the CM issue so far.

BJP and Shiv Sena went to elections as allies, but after results were announced, the Uddav Thackeray-led party demanded '50-50' sharing of CM's post. The BJP did not budge and refused to share the CM post. Shiv Sena is said to have reached out to the NCP and the Congress for support. The NCP put a condition that the Sena will have to walk out of the NDA first.

Shiv Sena then severed decades-old alliance with the BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in Maharashtra Assembly elections 2019. Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant, the lone party minister in the Modi Cabinet, on Monday, resigned and hence the Thackeray led party severed ties with the NDA.