NCP constitutes 5 members panel with Congress to deliberate on common minimum programme

Mumbai, Nov 13: The NCP on Wednesday named its five members for a joint committee to be formed with the Congress for deciding a 'common minimum programme' before their possible alliance with the Shiv Sena for government formation in Maharashtra.

NCP's legislature party head Ajit Pawar, its Maharashtra chief Jayant Patil, party veteran Chhagan Bhujbal, Mumbai unit president Nawab Malik and Leader of the Opposition in state Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde will be part of the committee. The decision was taken at a meeting of NCP legislators at the Y B Chavan Centre here on Wednesday.

"The NCP has named the leaders to be part of the joint committee. The Congress will also name its members for the purpose," said a leader of the Sharad Pawar-led party. The panel is being formed after NCP chief Sharad Pawar and senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel met here on Tuesday and expressed the need to have a common minimum programme (CMP) before working out the possibility of tying-up with the Shiv Sena.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena contested the October 21 state assembly polls in alliance with the BJP. But the two parties fell out over the Shiv Sena's demand of sharing the chief minister's post on a rotational basis.

With President's rule imposed in Maharashtra on Tuesday, the NCP and Congress are holding parleys on whether they can have a tie-up with the Shiv Sena to form an alternative government in the state. In the last month's polls to 288-member state Assembly, the BJP won 105 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena-56, the NCP-54 and the Congress-44. Meanwhile, Sharad Pawar paid respects to late Maharashtra chief minister Vasant Patil by garlanding his photograph in the state Legislature premises here. Senior NCP leaders and party MLAs were present on the occasion.