NEW DELHI: The Congress Working Committee on Thursday reviewed the political scenario in Maharashtra, a day after it held a marathon meeting with the NCP on forming an alliance together with Shiv Sena to form a government in the state.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal told the media after a meeting at party chief Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath residence that the CWC was briefed on the discussion between NCP and Congress on Wednesday.
However, Congress sources said a final decision on Maharashtra is expected by tomorrow.
The CWC, the sources said, has broadly agreed to go ahead with government formation with Shiv Sena and the NCP.
Another meeting between Congress and NCP is to happen Thursday night and a final meeting with Shiv Sena will happen Friday in Mumbai.
The decision on government formation in Maharashtra will be announced in Mumbai on Friday, the sources said.
On the hand, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Thursday that a final decision on the new government in Maharashtra will be taken in the next two days.
He told reporters that there there are no plans of any meeting between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray this week.
He also informed that three parties will collectively decide about power-sharing in Mumbai.
“The time has come, before December 1 the process of formation of the government will be over and the Chief Minister will also be decided. Till yesterday, marathon meetings of Congress-NCP were held here at the NCP Chief Sharad Pawar’s residence. In the next two days we will move ahead towards government formation,” said Raut.
“The three parties will collectively decide on power-sharing in Mumbai,” he added.
“The chief minister will be of Shiv Sena. People want Uddhav Thackeray to be the Chief Minister,” said Raut.
The chief minister’s post in Maharashtra is most likely to be on a rotational basis, with the first half of the five-year term to be given to the Shiv Sena and the latter to the Nationalist Congress Party, NCP sources said.
The Congress is likely to have the deputy chief minister’s post for the full term, they said.
A senior NCP leader said the fight between the Shiv Sena and the BJP was for over the issue of chief ministership for two-and-half years each.
“So, the question of the Sena enjoying the full five-year term does not arise. The second half will have a chief minister from the NCP,” the leader said.
However, Congress sources said the issue of chief minister’s post was not discussed in Wednesday’s meeting.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that the chief minister of the state will be from his party, but parried question on whether the Sena would hold the post for five years.
NCP leaders also cited the slim margin in the number of seats between the two parties.
In the October 21 Maharashtra polls, the BJP-Sena saffron alliance secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively in the 288-member assembly.
The Congress and the NCP, pre-poll allies, won 44 and 54 seats respectively.
NCP sources also added that the smaller parties which had allied with the Congress-NCP coalition are also on board to having a tie-up with the Shiv Sena.
The Raju Shetti-led Swabhimani Paksh (1), Hitendra Thakur-led Bahujan Vikas Aghadi (3), Samajwadi Party (2), CPI-M (1) and Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) — who had allied with the Congress-NCP — have also expressed their willingness to join the coalition.
