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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Congress-NCP seal Maharashtra seat sharing pact

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Lokmat Exclusive report

Congress-NCP seal Maharashtra seat sharing pact

Both parties to contest 24 seats each

CPM, Raju Shetty, Ambedkar, others to chip in

Harish Gupta

New Delhi, Jan 3

The Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) have sealed the Lok Sabha seats sharing deal under which both parties will contest 24 seats each.

The two parties sealed the deal yesterday evening when Ashok Chavan, PCC president and Sharad Pawar, NCP president held a prolonged meeting. Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of the Congress Party in Lok Sabha and incharge of Maharashtra affairs was also in loop. The Congress Core committee which also met last night approved the deal in principle. The two parties were wrangling over the deal for the past few weeks as the Congress wanted to contest 26 out of the 48 Lok Sabha seats as was the case in 2014 leaving 22 for the NCP.

However, Congress president Rahul Gandhi had authorised Sharad Pawar to sort out all pending issues in the state relating to seat sharing. Rahul Gandhi had met Pawar at least four times during the past five months.

Pawar had been talking to all like-minded parties in Maharashtra to stitch a mega alliance in Maharashtra including RPI (Ambedkar), CPM, BAV, BSP and Raju Shetty

An indication of clinching of the deal was available today at the mega conclave of the Opposition parties who met the Gurudwara Rakabganj Road residence of NCP senior leader Praful Patel.

Sharad Pawar indicated today the seat sharing formula has been evolved and both the parties will share seats to other parties from their own quota.

When Asked Parful Patel confirmed that the deal has been clinched and its only a matter of time when formal announcement will be made.

Those who attended the conclave at Parful Patel's residence included Sitaram Yechury (CPM), Satish Mishra (BSP), Ram Gopal Yadav (SP), Dereck O'brian (TMC), Ahmad Patel (Congress), S Raja (CPI), Kanimauzhi (DMK), Misa Bharti (RJD), Dr Farooq Abdullah (JK-NC) and others were present. The luncheon conclave gave a clue that Opposition unity in most of the states is progressing well. However, the leaders of the Opposition parties are refusing to call it a “Mahagathbandhan.”

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Fly on the Wall :Congress-NCP reach in-principle deal in Maharashtra

by Harish Gupta, National Editor, Lokmat Group

Congress-NCP reach in-principle deal in Maharashtra