Pawar meets Sonia at 10 Janpath

NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Monday met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence here amidst an impasse between the BJP and its ally the Shiv Sena on the government formation in Maharashtra. Sources said the meeting was earlier expected to take place in the afternoon but was delayed as Pawar had to attend a parliamentary standing committee meeting.

During the meeting, the two leaders are expected to discuss the current political situation in Maharashtra in view of the tussle between the BJP and its ally the Shiv Sena, which is playing hardball on the issue of chief minister's post and demanding an equal division of the top post's tenure. The BJP is not agreeing to the demand.

The BJP and the Sena are locked in a bitter dispute over the issue, resulting in a stalemate in government formation despite results of the Assembly polls on October 24 giving the saffron alliance a combined seat strength of 161, way past the 145 majority mark in the 288-member House. In the polls, the BJP won 105 seats, Shiv Sena-56, NCP-54 and Congress-44.