Sharad Pawar to chair NCP core committee meeting to discuss Maharashtra crisis

Mumbai: Amid the continuing political stalemate in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar has called a crucial meeting of his party leaders to discuss the situation in Maharashtra and decide the next course of action regarding government formation in the state. 

The NCP core committee meeting will be held at Pawar's residence in Pune at 4 pm.

According to NCP leader Nawab Malik, a 21-member meeting of his party, with Sharad Pawar at its helm, will be held in Pune to discuss the political situation in Maharashtra.

Malik had told reporters on Saturday that the NCP leaders will discuss the strategies to overcome the political stalemate following which Sharad Pawar will head to Delhi to meet Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi.

"We will discuss the strategies on Maharashtra`s current situation after that Pawarji will go to Delhi," he said."

''Most likely on Tuesday, a meeting between Congress and NCP leaders has been decided where we will discuss on whether Congress will be included in the formation of Maharashtra government or not," he added.

During their meeting, both Sonia and Pawar are also likely to take a final call on the draft Common Minimum Programme (CMP) agreed by their respective parties and the Shiv Sena for the proposed coalition government in Maharashtra.

Malik also refuted the reports that a meeting between the two parties had been called off, he said, "There was no meeting scheduled with Sonia Gandhi Ji during his Delhi visit when there was no meeting scheduled then there is no question of cancellation of any meeting."

Maharashtra came under President`s Rule after no party was able to show numbers to form a government after the assembly polls.

The BJP and Shiv Sena, who fought the polls together, got an absolute majority but could not form a government due to differences over power-sharing.

BJP, which emerged the single-largest party with 105 seats in 288-member assembly, expressed its inability to form the government. 

The state Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari later asked Shiv Sena and NCP about their intent and ability to form the government. 

Both parties sought more time. The Congress and the NCP also fought the Maharashtra assembly polls together and won 44 and 54 seats respectively.