Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan on Friday held discussions with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, a day after the party sealed a deal with ally Nationalist Congress Party to form the government in the state.
Chavan is understood to have discussed the allocation of portfolios at the meeting where senior Congress leaders A K Antony and Ahmad Patel were also present. The Congress and the NCP announced on Thursday night that they have finally reached an agreement on power sharing and a new government is likely to be sworn in on Saturday.
The Congress-NCP combine rode back to power for the third time in a row, defeating the opposition Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party combine in a mainly four-cornered contest, in which the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and the Third Front tried to make inroads.
The NCP is expected to retain the key portfolios of Home, Finance, Power and Rural Development while the Congress could secure the Public Health ministry.
As government formation was delayed after the declaration of assembly poll results on October 23, due to hard negotiations between the Congress and the NCP over portfolio-sharing, Governor S C Jamir had urged both parties to show a sense of urgency in forming the state government.
