Maharashtra mantle on Uddhav?

Mumbai: The new government in Maharashtra will be led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, NCP president Sharad Pawar said on Friday, signalling end of speculation on who will occupy the chief minister's post as efforts to install a non-BJP dispensation in the state gathered pace.

Emerging from a marathon meeting of top leaders of the Congress, the NCP and the Sena, who are making efforts to form government in Maharashtra, Pawar said there was a consensus on Thackeray's leadership.

"The issue of leadership is not pending. There are no two opinions on the issue of chief ministership. There was a consensus on Uddhav Thackeray leading the new government," he told reporters after the meeting.

Pawar said a press conference will be held on Saturday and the parties will take a call on meeting the Governor

Earlier, senior Congress leader Manikrao Thakare said that Friday's meeting of top Congress, NCP and Sena leaders was part of efforts by the three parties to evolve a consensus on development agenda for governance for the prospective ruling coalition.

"The draft of CMP and power-sharing arrangement worked out by the Congress-NCP is being discussed with the Shiv Sena leadership.

Based on what has been agreed upon and any suggestions to be incorporated is being worked out further," said the former Maharashtra Congress chief.

Eknath Shinde, Subhash Desai, Sanjay Raut (all Shiv Sena), Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjun Kharge, K C Venugopal, Avinash Pande, Balasaheb Thorat, Prithviraj Chavan (Congress), Praful Patel, Jayant Patil and Ajit Pawar (NCP) took part in the meeting.

Sharad Pawar and Thackeray also attended the deliberations at Nehru Centre in Central Mumbai. The state has been facing a political crisis after the Sena broke its three-decade-long ties with the BJP after the latter declined to share the chief minister's post.

The BJP and the Sena, which fought the assembly polls in alliance, had secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats, respectively, in the 288-member Assembly.

The NCP and the Congress, pre-poll allies, won 54 and 44 seats, respectively. The combined tally of the Sena, the NCP and the Congress is way beyond the majority mark of 145.