We will form govt that will last 5 yrs: Pawar
Statement indicates progress in talks over a common minimum programme among NCP, Cong and Sena
NAGPUR/MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar said on Friday that an alliance of his party with the Shiv Sena and the Congress will soon form the Maharashtra government and voiced confidence that it will last its full five-year term, indicating progress in talks over a common minimum programme among the three parties.
President’s Rule was imposed in Maharashtra on Tuesday after governor BS Koshyari told the Centre that no party was in a position to form the government, capping nearly three weeks of political instability and triggering criticism from opposition parties.
The Union home ministry has said the customary six-monthlong central rule could be revoked earlier if any party came forward to prove a majority in the state assembly.
Ruling out the possibility of mid-term polls in Maharashtra, Pawar said on Friday the three parties wanted to form a stable and development-oriented government.
Talks between the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress began after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which emerged as the single-largest party in last month’s assembly elections, abandoned its efforts to form a government in alliance with the Sena. The two saffron partners bickered for a fortnight over power-sharing arrangements, including the Sena’s demand for rotational chief ministership.
“The three parties, the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, want to form a stable government in
Maharashtra and there is no possibility of mid-term polls. This government will be formed and we all will ensure this government runs for five years,” Pawar said in Nagpur, where he was taking stock of crop damage caused by unseasonal rain.
“I can assure you that President’s Rule will not last long and we will provide a stable government soon,” he added.
While the NCP chief appeared non-committal on the issue of chief ministership, his party’s spokesperson, Nawab Malik, said the CM’S post in the state would go to the Sena. “The chief minister will be from the Shiv Sena. It walked away from the alliance [with the BJP] on the issue of the chief minister’s post. It is our responsibility to respect its sentiment,” Malik said.
The Shiv Sena contested the assembly elections in alliance with the BJP, with the two parties together winning 161 seats, comfortably over the majority mark
in the 288-member assembly.
The impasse in Maharashtra began soon after the assembly election results threw up a hung House, with the BJP at 105 seats, the Sena at 56, the NCP at 54 and the Congress at 44. After the BJP declined to form the government on Saturday — and blamed the Sena for betraying the people’s mandate — the governor called the regional outfit.
The Sena’s bid was dependent on support from its erstwhile rivals, the NCP and the Congress, but the latter said late on Monday evening that it needed more time.
The Sena is now working with the NCP and the Congress on a common minimum programme that will guide the actions of the government the three parties plan to form.
At a joint press conference on Tuesday, the Congress and the NCP said no call had been taken on an alliance with the Sena and that more discussions were required.