Congress leaders willing to partner with Shiv Sena, post Arvind Sawant's resignation

After Shiv Sena leader Arvind Sawant resigned from the central government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress expressed its desire to partner with Shiv Sena. Congress leaders KC Padavi and Rajasthan state in-charge Avinash Pande arrived in Jaipur after meeting the party high command in Delhi on Tuesday afternoon. KC Padavi said he was hopeful the Congress would form a coalition government in Maharashtra with the Shiv Sena.

On the question of whether ideological differences with the Shiv Sena have been creating hiccups, Padavi said even the BJP aligned with Mehbooba Mufti in Jammu and Kashmir.

When questioned about ideological differences with the Shiv Sena, Padavi said there is no reason for doubts since even the BJP has aligned with Mehbooba Mufti in Jammu and Kashmir. He said the Shiv Sena was not RSS, conveying clearly that Congress MLAs don't have any apprehensions about allying with Uddhav Thackeray's party.

Hectic meetings were held in Delhi earlier where apart from the Congress' interim president Sonia Gandhi, several senior Congress leaders from Maharashtra, including Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan, Balasaheb Thorat, Mallikarjun Kharge and others were also present. Three leaders, including Padavi and Pande, arrived at the Jaipur resort where Maharashtra Congress MLAs have been staying for the past five days. The Congress MLAs have clearly conveyed their desire to be a part of a Maharashtra government led by the Shiv Sena.

However, certain sections in the Congress said allying with a party like Shiv Sena might be a deterrent in states like Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand. Avinash Pande addressed this and said, "Interactions have been held with all the senior leaders of Maharashtra. The discussions were about how a government can be formed, what its role will be and how work can be done for the benefit of the people of Maharashtra. The party leaders need to stay united,"