NCP: Sena to lead 3-party alliance govt
BJP also claimed it would form govt
The first-ever Shiv Sena-Ncp-congress alliance in Maharashtra appears to be taking shape with Sharad Pawar on Friday expressing confidence that the government of the three parties will last a full term.
The NCP also said that the Sena, which fell out with the BJP over chief minister's post, will lead the alliance.
A delegation of Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena is set to meet Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Saturday, but the three parties maintained that it was for seeking immediate aid for rain-affected farmers, and was not about government formation.
The three-party coalition, a new experiment in Maharashtra involving outfits with diverse ideologies, will be led by the Sena, leaders in the Uddhav Thackeray-party and the NCP said, marking a progress in power-sharing talks.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said a Shiv Sena-ncp-congress government will be formed, and it will complete five-year term as he ruled out the possibility of mid-term polls in the state which is currently under President's rule. “This government will be formed and it will complete five years. We all will ensure this government runs for five years,” the NCP chief said in Nagpur. In Mumbai, NCP’S chief spokesman Nawab Malik said the CM’S post will go to the Sena.
The BJP, meanwhile, claimed that it would form the government, without disclosing how it would cobble up majority figure of 145 in the 288-member House.
Pawar is expected to meet Congress President Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi on Monday where a decision on government formation is likely to be taken.