'Hindutva or Bharat Ratna to Savarkar weren’t discussed in CMP meet', says Sharad Pawar

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray along with his son and party MLA Aaditya Thackeray met NCP leader Sharad Pawar at his residence on Thursday night, on November 21. During their meeting, Sharad Pawar briefed Thackeray about his discussion with Sonia Gandhi and other Congress leaders about the modalities of government formation and the basics of Common Minimum Programme (CMP) decided by Congress-NCP. As per sources, issues such as Hindutva or posthumously awarding Bharat Ratna to Savarkar were not discussed in any of their meetings and they stuck to primarily discussing the CMP.

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Other leaders present at the meeting

In addition to the Thackeray men, Sena leader Sanjay Raut was also present along with Uddhav and Aaditya at Sharad Pawar's residence. NCP leader Ajit Pawar was also reportedly present at the meeting between the two-party leaders that began a little before midnight and went on for close to half an hour. Earlier on November 21, Sanjay Raut stated that NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena will form a government before December 1, while asserting that the chief minister will be from his (Shiv Sena) party.

Amidst the political chaos in the State, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had asked NCP chief Sharad Pawar to indicate the willingness and ability of his party, which finished third in the assembly polls, to form the government in Maharashtra. Additionally, Koshyari, in a report to MHA, recommended President’s rule over the State. This came after the NCP sought more time to form a government. Maharashtra then came under the President's Rule after all the parties failed to form a government in the State.

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Maha-Aghadi alliance

Earlier in the day, sources revealed that it has been suggested that the new alliance be named as “Maha Vikas Aghadi”, similar to the Maha Aghadi (NCP-Congress) alliance. Sources further report that Congress turned down Shiv Sena's offer to name the alliance ' Maha Shiv Aghadi' stating that it will not compromise on its ideology. Meanwhile, sources reported that all three parties along with the Independent MLAs supporting them (total - 170 MLAs) will stake claim to form the next Maharashtra government in the first week of December. Earlier on Wednesday, November 20, Sonia Gandhi agreed to an alliance with Shiv Sena, allegedly turning down NCP's demand for rotational CM, with the Shiv Sena insisting that Uddhav Thackeray be made CM for the full term.

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