Sonia deputes Cong leaders to meet Pawar in Mumbai
November 12, 2019  12:42
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Things hotting up in Maharashtra. 


Interim Congress president Sonia Gandhi speaks to NCP chief Sharad Pawar and authorises senior Congress leaders to meet Pawar for further talks on the Maharashtra government formation. 


Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjuna Kharge and KC Venugopal will be leaving for Mumbai to meet Pawar.


The NCP has till 8:30 pm to stake claim to form government. 


To bring you up to speed, the Shiv Sena failed to stake claim to from government yesterday, following which Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday evening asked NCP chief Sharad Pawar to indicate willingness and ability of his party, which finished third in the assembly polls, to form the government in the state.


When asked if there is a delay on part of Congress, Pawar said: "I will talk to the Congress."


The NCP chief also met Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut at Lilawati hospital in Mumbai today. Raut was admitted to the hospital yesterday after he complained of chest pain.


Both the NCP and the Congress held meetings on Monday over the developments as the Shiv Sena expressed its desire to form a non-BJP government.


The NCP made it clear that it will not take a decision without its ally Congress spelling out its position.


The Congress Working Committee discussed the developments in Maharashtra and decided to have a meeting with its leaders from Maharashtra before taking a decision. At the end of deliberations, the party issued a statement which talked of further consultations with the NCP and made no mention of the Shiv Sena.


BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party in Maharashtra assembly polls with 105 seats, declined to form the government following differences with Shiv Sena on sharing power. 


The NCP has 54 MLAs, just two short of the Shiv Sena's 56, while its alliance partner Congress has 44.


If NCP gets the support of Shiv Sena, which has 56 legislators, and Congress, it will easily cross the majority mark of 145 in the 288-member assembly. 
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