New Delhi/Mumbai: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Parliament, Wednesday over farmers’ distress in Maharashtra. It happened on a day when the Congress and NCP stepped up momentum on forming the government in the coastal state.
Results of the October 21 Assembly polls were declared October 24 and President’s rule was imposed in Maharashtra, November 12 after no party or combine staked claim to form the new government.
The meeting between Sharad Pawar and Modi at the prime minister’s chamber in Parliament took place amid talks between the NCP, the Congress and the Shiv Sena for an alliance.
“Due to President’s rule in Maharashtra, your urgent intervention is highly necessitated. I shall be grateful if you could take immediate steps to initiate massive relief measures to ameliorate distressed farmers,” the three-page memorandum given by Pawar to Modi said.
There were few takers for Pawar’s emphatic denial of any political discussion having taken place during his meeting with Modi.
In a seprate development, Wednesday evening NCP and Congress leaders met at Pawar’s residence here to discuss how to partner with the Shiv Sena.
Talking to reporters in the national capital, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut exuded confidence that a government led by his party will be in place in the state by next month. He said the picture of the government formation in Maharashtra will become clear in the next two days.
“We are inching towards the government formation. The picture will become clear in the next two days and a popular government led by the Shiv Sena will be in place by December,” Sanjay Raut told reporters.
Senior leaders of the Congress and the NCP held talks with a focus on firming up the modalities for taking a shot at government formation in Maharashtra. Congress leaders Ahmed Patel, Jairam Ramesh, Mallikarjun Kharge, Prithviraj Chavan, KC Venugopal and Balasaheb Thorat attended the meeting while for the NCP it was represented by Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil and Nawab Malik.
PTI
