New Govt. in Maharashtra Next Week only ?

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

New Govt. in Maharashtra Next Week only ?  

Koshiyari to Visit Delhi on Nov. 23-24

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov 21

Even as the efforts of the Sena-NCP-Congress are in full swing to form the government in Mumbai within the next two days, the Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari will be out of the State. He is traveling to Delhi to attend the two days conference of the Governors & Lt. Governors.

The President, Ram Nath Kovind has called a conference of Governors and Lt. Governors on November 23 and 24 at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This will be the 50th such Conference to be held in Rashtrapati Bhavan and the third Conference to be presided over by President Kovind.

It is learnt that Koshiyari will be returning to Mumbai only on Monday i.e. November 25.

The Vice President; Prime Minister; Union Ministers of Home Affairs; Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare; Law and Justice; Human Resource Development; Tribal Affairs; and Jal Shakti; the Vice Chairman and the CEO of NITI Aayog and other senior officials from various Ministries will also participate.

During his stay, Koshiyari is likely to meet the Central leaders too.

Thus, the process of government formation in Maharashtra will begin only next week.

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NCP-Congress form 10-member Committee

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Lokmat Exclusive

NCP-Congress form 10-member Committee

Coordination Committee to prepare CMP by Friday

Talks with Sena to begin on Sunday

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Nov. 19

The process for installing the non-BJP government in Maharashtra moved further with the NCP and Congress parties agreeing to constitute 10-member coordination committee.

The committee will comprise five members each from both the parties. The first meeting between leaders of the two parties will be held tomorrow in Delhi.

Praful Patel, party general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP told Lokmat today that the two parties will prepare a Common Minimum Program (CMP) first. When asked why the two parties need a CMP, he said the two parties had contested on their own manifesto separately though they were partners. “We have to hammer out a our own CMP and then we will talk to Shiv Sena to evolve a CMP of the three parties,” he added.

He said this decision was taken when Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar held a meeting on Monday.

Bala Saheb Thorat, president of the Maharashtra Congress, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Mallikarjun Kharge and one more leader may represent the Congress Party at the coordination committee.

Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Jayant Patil, Sunil Tatkare and others.

Sonia Gandhi and Sharad Pawar reported to have informally decided that the Congress-NCP CMP will be prepared within the next three days and then the talks with Shiv Sena will be held on the CMP of three parties.

Since Uddhav Thackeray has already cancelled his visit to Ayodhya on November 24 and has also called off his visit to Delhi to meet L K Advani, it indicates that he is now moving towards NCP-Congress to form an alternative government in Maharashtra minus BJP.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari had invited Sena and NCP to prove its ability to form the government, failing which the President's Rule was imposed in the state on November 12. The assembly is in suspended animation. But can be revived anytime within six month if any of the parties stake claim to form the government.

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