Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray Meet Over Maharashtra Government Formation

The unprecedented political development came a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party conceded that it was unable to form the government, following which Governor Koshyari invited the Sena to make an attempt.

Mumbai: As the Shiv Sena snapped ties with the BJP-led NDA, party chief Uddhav Thackeray accompanied by his son Aditya called on Nationalist Congress Party President Sharad Pawar here, ostensibly seeking the latter's support to form the government in Maharashtra, here on Monday. According to sources on both sides, the trio met privately in a room at suburban five-star hotel in Bandra. Other leaders like NCP's Ajit Pawar and Dilip Walse-Patil and Sena's Sanjay Raut were also present at Hotel Taj Land's End. Though both sides have kept mum on the deliberations, it is understood that Thackeray sought the NCP's support to help cobble up a viable state government within the evening deadline set by Governor B.S. Koshyari. The unprecedented political development came a day after the Bharatiya Janata Party conceded that it was unable to form the government, following which Governor Koshyari invited the Sena to make an attempt.

The Pawar-Thackeray meeting came shortly after the Sena's Heavy Industries Minister Arvind Sawant met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and tendered his resignation from the Union Cabinet, "in deference to the party's directives" and "in view of the circumstances that arose after the Maharashtra elections". All eyes are now on Congress President Sonia Gandhi for the party's decision to prop up a Sena-led government in the state after consultations with the state party unit leadership, expected after 4 p.m., following which the NCP will take a call, according to NCP national spokesperson Nawab Malik.