NCP will back Shiv Sena CM, says party leader Nawab Malik

Mumbai, Nov 15: Amid political crisis in Maharashtra over government formation, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Nawab Malik on Friday confirmed that the erstwhile Maha-agadhi alliance is ready to support Shiv Sena's demand for chief minister's post, in order to form a fresh coalition with the Maratha party included.

The Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP held a joint meeting in Mumbai to refine an agreement of a possible alliance between them and also held further discussion on the Common Minimum Programme on Thursday.

The Sena reached out to the Congress-NCP combine for government formation after its demand for sharing the chief minister's post and equal distribution of portfolios was rejected by the BJP, its pre-poll ally.

The BJP and the Sena, which fought the October 21 polls in alliance, secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member assembly, where the majority mark is 145.

The Congress and the NCP, pre-poll allies, won 44 and 54 seats, respectively. President's rule was imposed in the state on Tuesday after Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari sent a report to the Centre, stating that formation of a stable government was impossible in the current political situation.