Maharashtra Assembly Polls: Sharad Pawar Meets Sonia Gandhi Over Seat-Sharing Arrangement

NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Tuesday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence and is learnt to have discussed the seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. The Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have already decided to contest the polls together under coalition.

Sources said Pawar is learnt to have given a final shape to the broad seat-sharing arrangement between the two parties for the Maharashtra Assembly polls, slated to held in October, but detailed discussions will continue for the next few days before a final tie-up plan is laid out.

Over the past few weeks, state leaders of the two parties have met several times to discuss the matter.

On Monday, in another setback for the NCP, its heavyweight leader from Konkan region and former Maharashtra minister Bhaskar Jadhav on Monday announced his decision to join the Shiv Sena.

Jadhav, who started his political career with the Sena but later switched over to the Sharad Pawar-led party, held a meeting on Monday with his supporters at his hometown Guhagar in Ratnagiri district where he made the announcement.

Several senior leaders from the opposition NCP and Congress have recently joined the ruling BJP and Shiv Sena in the state, where the Assembly polls are due next month.

Jadhav told reporters in Ratnagiri that after discussing the future course of action with his supporters, he has decided to join the Shiv Sena on September 13. “I had a meeting with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray a couple of weeks back and he made an offer to me to join the party,” he said.

(With PTI Inputs)

HIGHLIGHTS

• NCP leader Sharad Pawar on Tuesday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence.
• Pawar is learnt to have given a final shape to the broad seat-sharing arrangement.
• State leaders of the two parties have met several times to discuss the matter.