NCP supremo Sharad Pawar, after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi, on Monday said the two parties will hold talks with their allies in Maharashtra before taking a decision on forming a government in the state.
Pawar said he briefed Gandhi about the political situation in Maharashtra and that there was no talk on government formation in the state.
'We have discussed in detail the political situation in Maharashtra,' he said at a press conference after meeting the Congress chief.
He said the representatives of the Congress and the NCP will hold further talks 'in a day or two' to decide 'on the future course of action.'
'We need to sort out some issues,' Pawar said
The NCP chief added that further discussions are needed with the parties that 'fought the elections with us,' adding no talks were held on the common mininmum programme with the Congress chief.
The meeting took place at Gandhi's 10 Janpath residence in New Delhi and lasted for about 50 minutes.
'Sh. Sharad Pawar met the Congress President today and briefed her on the situation in Maharashtra. It was decided that in a day or two, representatives from NCP & Congress will meet in Delhi to discuss the way forward,' Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala tweeted.
Sh. Sharad Pawar met the Congress President today and briefed her on the situation in Maharashtra. It was decided that in a day or two, representatives from NCP & Congress will meet in Delhi to discuss the way forward
— Randeep Singh Surjewala (@rssurjewala) November 18, 2019
The Congress and NCP leaders have held a series of meetings in the past few days to finalise the modalities for the government in Maharashtra.
Earlier in the day, Pawar said all political parties seeking to stake claim in forming the government in Maharashtra have to 'choose their own paths'.
'BJP-Shiv Sena fought together, we (NCP) and Congress fought together. They have to choose their path and we will do our politics,' Pawar told reporters ahead of the start of the winter session of Parliament.
The BJP-Sena alliance had secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly. However, the alliance had fallen apart over the sharing of the chief minister's post.
As no parties or alliance staked claim to form the government, Maharashtra was placed under President's rule on November 12
The Congress and NCP, pre-poll allies, won 44 and 54 seats, respectively.
