Former Union minister Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is working to ensure the continuation of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition with Shiv Sena and Congress to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the state as well as at the Centre, people aware of the matter said.
NCP is believed to have conveyed the need for this to the Sena leadership, particularly against the backdrop of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s move to snap ties with the BJP in Bihar and to form the government with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress.
Top NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal, and Sunil Tatkare on Wednesday met Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and discussed the continuation of the alliance.
Shiv Sena ended its decades-long alliance with the BJP in 2019 and formed the MVA government with NCP and Congress. MVA lost power over a month back after Eknath Shinde and 39 of 55 Sena lawmakers rebelled against Thackeray and became the chief minister with the BJP’s help.
The people cited above said that there was no communication between the NCP leadership and Shiv Sena since Thackeray resigned from the chief minister’s position in the face of the rebellion. “The NCP leadership is of the view that Thackeray needs to be convinced as to why their unity is necessary for their own survival,” said an NCP leader, who did not want to be named.
The leader added the legal battle in the Supreme Court over who should control the Shiv Sena is likely to continue for a long time but if the three parties stick together and contest the polls together, then the political advantage will also be on their side in Maharashtra.
{{/usCountry}}The leader added the legal battle in the Supreme Court over who should control the Shiv Sena is likely to continue for a long time but if the three parties stick together and contest the polls together, then the political advantage will also be on their side in Maharashtra.
{{/usCountry}}The political scenario has changed nationally and things may change if most of the non-BJP parties come together with Kumar back in the opposition fold at the national level, the leader added.
Maharashtra and Bihar together account for 88 of 543 seats in Parliament’s lower House or Lok Sabha and are crucial in determining, who governs at the Centre.