Maharashtra logjam: Senior Congress leaders defer Mumbai visit

Mumbai, November 12

Senior Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge, who were supposed to come to Mumbai on Tuesday to discuss modalities of support to the Shiv Sena for government formation in Maharashtra, had deferred their visit, a Congress leader said.

The two leaders postponed their visit after NCP chief Sharad Pawar conveyed that state leaders of both the parties would first discuss the “terms and conditions” of government formation, former Maharashtra Congress president Manikrao Thakare told PTI.

“The Maharashtra Congress leaders will discuss the broad contours of government formation with their NCP counterparts on Tuesday before inviting the Shiv Sena for talks,” he said.

Congress chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday discussed the state’s political situation with Pawar and accordingly, it was decided that the state NCP and Congress leaders “will discuss the terms and conditions and a ‘common minimum programme’ for government formation” later in the day, he said.

“The Shiv Sena leaders are likely to join the discussions after the Congress and NCP come to an agreement. Sharad Pawar has informed the Congress central leadership that he would come to Delhi and finalise details with them,” Thakare said.

“Hence, AICC general secretaries Venugopal and Kharge, who were to come to Mumbai, deferred their visit,” he said.

Meanwhile, a senior NCP leader, on condition of anonymity, said unless all the three parties--Congress, NCP and Sena--joined the government, there would be no stability.

“Hence, we want that the Congress should be part of the government,” the leader said. PTI