NCP may demand sharing CM post in Maharashtra

Hours after
President’s rule was imposed in Maharashtra, allies Congress and Nationalist
Congress Party (NCP) launched formal talks on Tuesday and said they will soon
finalise a formula for sharing power in a Shiv Sena-led state government, sources
said.

The NCP
wants the chief minister’s post for two-and-a-half-years, half the government’s
term, a person familiar with the developments said. The demand could be a major
hurdle in the three parties reaching an agreement on the sharing of power.

A day after the
Shiv Sena did not get an expected letter of support from the Congress and NCP
and minutes after President’s Rule was imposed in the state, leaders of the
Congress and NCP met in Mumbai to work out a power sharing formula and common
minimum programme.

Congress’s
organisation general secretary KC Venugopal, along with other senior leaders,
including Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, and
Ahmed Patel, reached Mumbai in the evening.

They held a
meeting with NCP chief Sharad Pawar at the YB Chavan Centre for around
one-and-a-half hours.

Congress and
NCP leaders said after the meeting that a decision on supporting Shiv Sena to
form a government will be taken once they arrive at an agreement.

Ahmed Patel  said, “There will be discussions between
Congress and NCP over the common minimum programme and other issues first
before discussing it with the Sena. The decision over supporting Sena to form
the government will be taken once we arrive at an agreement over the policies
and programmes of the government to be formed.”

The leaders
also discussed equal sharing of ministerial berths among the three parties.