Narvekar: Uddhav’s close aide who led Cong alliance talks

MUMBAI: As the Shiv Sena was running against time on Monday to cobble up numbers to form the government in Maharashtra, party chief Uddhav Thackeray deputed his close aide and Sena secretary Milind Narvekar to hold talks with the Congress leadership in New Delhi.

Narvekar, who has been by Thackeray’s side for over 25 years, is known for his crisis management and networking skills within the party.

Late on Monday, while Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with Pawar at five-star Hotel Taj Land’s End in Bandra, he sent two senior leaders, party secretary Milind Narvekar and Rajya Sabha MP Anil Desai, as emissaries to Delhi to hold talks with Congress’s leadership.

Narvekar and Desai met Congress senior leader Ahmed Patel, who also facilitated a call between Thackeray and Gandhi. However, despite rounds of discussions in Delhi and Jaipur within the party, Congress, could not take any decision over supporting the Sena-led government.

A party functionary said, “The task was to get the support of the Congress party and not letters of support on the same day; it is not realistic. The meeting and subsequent phone call with Sonia ji got things moving and today the leaders of Congress party came down to Mumbai to discuss with the NCP.”

Another Sena official said Narvekar had helped Sena chief steer through many challenges over the years, and the 50-year-old “got the ball” rolling for Thackeray to engage and forge an alliance.