Some senior Sena leaders are likely to reach Delhi to meet Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to press for the request. While Pawar made the request to the Ahmed Patel-led AICC delegation on Tuesday, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut too made his party’s request when PCC chief Balasaheb Thorat and ex-CM Ashok Chavan met him on Wednesday.
After the governor placed the state assembly under suspended animation, the three parties condemned the action continued to work for staking claim to form a government even as the Sena approached the Supreme Court. On its part, BJP is likely to accelerate its efforts to drive a wedge between the Sena-NCP-Congress or poach MLAs.
Maharashtra Congress leaders are expected to hold further talks with AICC. Fadnavis' resignation helped Sena and NCP-Congress to off load the pressure of time. The trio will have some days to carry on negotiations before meeting the governor to press their cases
In the eventuality of Fadnavis forming a government without resolving issues with Sena, the first test will come during election of the assembly Speaker. If Fadnavis shies away from forming a government, a Sena delegation would revisit the governor to “press for its demand that the second-largest party be invited to form the govt,” the source said.
The BJP and the Shiv Sena are locked in a bitter tussle over sharing of the chief minister's post and ministerial portfolios in new government in Maharashtra. There has been no headway in government formation after results of the state Assembly polls were declared on October 24 in which the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena-56, NCP- 54 and Congress-44.
A source said that Tharoor’s letter advised members to furnish comments on his statements within 24 hours and if nothing was heard by Wednesday evening, it would be taken that they approved his proposal that the committee take up the snooping issue at its November 20 meeting, it said.
Sena leaders met the governor ahead of Congress-NCP delegation’s audience with him on Tuesday to urge him to expedite process of ministry formation as Maharashtra had several issues which needed the attention of an elected government. A day after the Pawar-Sonia meeting in Delhi, NCP also asked Sena to start the process of disengaging from BJP.
Notwithstanding Congress ‘ideological dilemma’, sources privy to the confabulations between Maharashtra Congress leaders and Pawar and between Gandhi and state Congress leaders said, there is a ‘growing recognition’ that the Opposition alliance will have to reposition, should the BJP-Sena rift provide an opening in Mumbai.
Led by BB Batra and Geeta Bhukkal, the MLAs were learnt to have demanded Hooda be elected CLP leader then and there by doing away with the practice of passing a resolution, authorising Congress president to do the honours. They also objected to AICC observer Mistry holding one-on-one consultations with MLAs to “assess their views”.
Though Pawar and Congress have denied plans to have an alliance with Sena to keep BJP away from power, political circles feel that the BJP-Sena war of words have bestowed strategic importance to NCP.
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