Pawar meets Sonia to discuss govt formation in Maharashtra

NEW DELHI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence here on Monday to discuss the possibility of formation of a government in Maharashtra.

The NCP is in talks with ally Congress for a possible alliance with the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena after its alliance with the BJP fell apart over the chief minister's post.

Congress and NCP leaders have held a series of meetings in the last few days to finalise modalities for a Sena-led government in Maharashtra.

Ahead of his meeting with Gandhi, 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.

Maharashtra was placed under President's rule on November 12 after no party or alliance staked claim to form government.

Pawar's meeting with the Congress chief comes a day after the NCP's core committee held a meeting in Pune and resolved that the current President's rule in Maharashtra should end and an "alternative government" should be formed.

The BJP-Sena saffron alliance had secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly. The Congress and NCP, pre-poll allies, won 44 and 54 seats respectively.