Maharashtra govt formation Updates: The series of meetings within the Nationalist Congress Party and Congress to discuss the modalities of an alliance with Shiv Sena before the three go on to form a government in Maharashtra has entered yet another day. While Congress’ top decision making body – CWC – met at interim president Sonia Gandhi’s 10 Janpath house, NCP leaders also got in to a huddle in the national capital. The two parties are likely to meet again later in the day. Reports say the parties have finally finalised a deal and a formal announcement in this regard is likely to be made in a joint press conference on Friday (November 22). Meanwhile, disgruntled Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam has warned his party against any alliance with Sena. Nirupam said the Congress is committing the same mistake it had done by joining hands with the BSP.
Meanwhile, Congress Legislative Party to meet tomorrow to elect it’s leader in the Assembly
On Wednesday, NCP chief Sharad Pawar met interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi and later in the evening Congress, NCP leaders held a meeting at Pawar’s residence to discuss the modalities of the alliance. Pawar also met PM Modi in Parliament House setting the political circles abuzz. However, the veteran leader didn’t disclose what transpired in the meeting.
The Shiv Sena, on the other hand, exuded confidence that the alliance will certainly go ahead to stake claim to form government in Maharashtra.
“All the obstructions which were there in last 10-15 days, regarding the formation of government in Maharashtra, are not there anymore. You will get to know by 12 pm tomorrow that all the obstructions are gone. The picture will be clear by tomorrow afternoon,” senior party leader Sanjay Raut told reporters today.
President’s Rule was imposed in Maharashtra on November 12 after none of the parties staked claim to form the government. The BJP, Shiv Sena who contested the polls together have a comfortable majority in the assembly with 105 and 56 MLAs respectively. The NCP has 54, Congress 44 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.
Live Blog
Maharashtra Govt Formation 2019 Updates: Maharashtra CM Update, CM of Maharashtra Latest News
The Congress should not back the Shiv Sena and the NCP in government formation in Maharashtra if it is not going to get the chief minister's post on a rotational basis, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said on Thursday.
Shiv Sena MP Bhavana Gawali has urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar to form government in Maharashtra at the earliest so as to resolve the problems of farmers, reports PTI.
A complaint of "cheating" has been filed against Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray and two other leaders in Maharashtra's Aurangabad district for seeking votes in the name of Hindutva, but not forming government with pre-poll ally BJP, an official said on Thursday.
"Congress and NCP have completed discussions on all issues. There is complete unanimity. Tomorrow in Mumbai, we will have meeting with our other alliance parties. Later in the day, we will have discussion with Shiv Sena," Prithviraj Chavan tells ANI.
The Congress Working Committee, earlier in the day, gave its green signal to the party to form government in Maharashtra along with the NCP and the Shiv Sena, PTI reported.
Shiv Sena MLA Abdul Sattar has accused the BJP of trying to poach party MLAs. Sattar said anyone who tries to lure Sena leaders will be beaten up. WATCH VIDEO:
Senior Congress leader and close aide of Sonia Gandhi Ahmed Patel is meeting NCP chief Sharad Pawar at the latter's Delhi residence. NCP, Congress have held several rounds of talks to finalise alliance with Shiv Sena for government formation in Maharashtra.
There's still no clarity over the CM candidate of Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress alliance in Maharashtra. Even as the parties are claiming that talks are proceeding in the right direction and things will be sorted soon, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has reportedly put his foot down demanding the CM post for full 5-year term, reports CNN-News18.
Disgruntled Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam has warned the party against getting into an alliance with Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. Nirupam said the Congress is repeating the mistake that it had done by joining hands with BSP in Uttar Pradesh years ago.
NCP leaders are meeting in New Delhi to discuss the details of an alliance with Shiv Sena and Congress to form the government in Maharashtra. The NCP leaders are then likely to hold another meeting with Congress later in the day.
Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat has said that alliance talks with NCP and Shiv Sena are continuing and several issues are to be sorted out before a final call is taken. "There are many points on which we need clarification if we have to run a government together for 5 years. Discussions are progressing. We will go to Mumbai today," Thorat said.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has reportedly hardened his stand demanding the CM post for full 5-year-term , reports CNN-News18. Sena, NCP and Congress have been involved in talks since over three weeks to form government in Maharashtra, however, nothing has materialised so far.
The Congress Working Committee today discussed and decided what steps need to be taken ahead. We will now take steps as decided in the meeting, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge says.
Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has said that the process of government formation in Maharashtra will be completed by December 1. "The process to form government has started. It will be completed before December 1. All three parties will hold meeting in Mumbai," news agency ANI quoted Raut, as saying.
Congress leaders KC Venugopal, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Ambika Soni, Ahmed Patel, AK Antony and others arrive at 10 Janpath - residence of party's interim president Sonia Gandhi - for Congress Working Committee meet.
Congress Working Committee to meet at 10 Janpath, residence of party's interim president Sonia Gandhi, today. The meeting comes a day after Congress, NCP leaders met at Sharad Pawar's house in New Delhi to finalise alliance with Shiv Sena for government formation in Maharashtra.
Sharad Pawar met PM Modi today on the sidelines of the ongoing Parliament session triggering many speculations. However, the details of the meeting were not revealed. | READ MORE HERE
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi refused to comment over the latest developments even as Shiv Sena claimed that a clear picture would emerge by Thursday as "all issues" have been sorted out. "No comments," was Sonia Gandhi's response when reporters asked her about Maharashtra outside the Parliament House. | READ MORE HERE
Leaders of NCP and Congress are meeting at Sharad Pawar's residence in New Delhi. NCP chief Sharad Pawar had met interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi earlier in the day. The details of the meeting are not exactly known, however, media reports claimed that she has given her nod for the alliance with Shiv Sena.,
NCP Mumbai chief Nawab Malik says Sharad Pawar has called a meeting of the core committee of party leaders tomorrow (Sunday) at 4 pm in Pune. Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi will meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday. Earlier, the meeting was scheduled for Saturday.
Sena MP Sanjay Raut says that his party would not attend a meeting of NDA constituents. He adds that formal severance of ties with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance was now only a formality. Sena fell out with the BJP over sharing of chief minister's post after the two allies won a comfortable majority in the assembly polls.
Maharashtra: Governor Koshyari announces a relief package of Rs 8000 per hectare up to 2 hectare for agricultural Kharif crops and, a relief sum of Rs 18000 per hectare up to 2 hectares for horticulture/perennial crops, following damage to crops by unseasonal rains during Oct-Nov.
The meeting of the delegation of NCP, Congress and Shiv Sena with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari has been postponed till further notice. The meeting was scheduled to take place at 4.30 pm today.
Shiv Sena, which has broken its ties with the BJP in Maharashtra, will not attend the NDA meeting in Delhi ahead of Winter session of Parliament.
Congress Parliamentary strategy group to meet at the residence of party's interim president Sonia Gandhi, later today. NCP chief Sharad Pawar is likely to meet Sonia Gandhi on Sunday to discuss the modalities of Maharashtra alliance before staking claim to form government.
Meeting of Maharashtra BJP leaders underway in Mumbai. Former CM Devendra Fadnavis and party's state chief Chandrakant Patil also present at the meeting. Patil had earlier said that no party can form government in the state without BJP's support.
Nationalist Congress Party leader Nawab Malik has said that the BJP is jittery that those leaders who switched sides ahead of polls may defect. "They (the BJP) now have a trepidation that these MLAs (who joined BJP from other parties) will defect. Hence, they(BJP leaders) are making these statements to keep the flock together," news agency PTI quoted Malik, as saying.
Continuing its attack on the BJP, Shiv Sena has accused its former ally of indulging in horse trading under the guise of President's Rule in Maharashtra. An editorial in Sena mouthpiece slammed BJP president and Amit Shah and party's state unit chief Chandrakant Patil for claiming that no party can form government without the BJP's support. | READ MORE HERE
Congress leaders Mukul Wasnik, Asha Kumari and K Suresh have arrived for a meeting at Congress War Room. A meeting of Congress General Secretaries, Secretaries, State Presidents and Legislative Party leaders is underway, reports news agency ANI.
Taking a dig at the BJP, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut posted a couplet of famous Urdu poet Bashir Badr on Twitter. "I no longer remember the wounds of the past," Raut said.
Speaking at a function organised by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Pune on Friday, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said that the vision of RSS all other organisations associated with it is not limited to forming government. "We (Sangh parivar) have a clear vision, and it is not limited to forming government or making anyone chief minister or prime minister. We have a clear vision about our ideology and we should work for rebuilding the nation," news agency PTI quoted Gadkari, as saying.
Nationalist Congress Party president has ruled out any possibility of a mid-term election in Maharashtra asserting that the Shiv Sena, NCP, Congress coalition government will complete its term of five years.
As Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress move ahead to form government in Maharashtra, all eyes are now on the meeting between Sharad Pawar and Sonia Gandhi scheduled to be held in Delhi on Sunday. NCP chief Sharad Pawar and AICC president Sonia Gandhi will sit together on 17 November and discuss the next course of action, senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge told ANI on Friday.