Mumbai, November 17: The deadlock in Maharashtra government formation could be resolved if the meeting between Congress and Shiv Sena leaders on Monday ends on a positive note. If the two parties could not reach a common group - due to their sharp ideological differences - the impasse is unlikely to be resolved, hinted former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. BJP, Shiv Sena Will Come Together to Form Government in Maharashtra, Amit Shah Told Me: Ramdas Athawale.

Chavan, while speaking to reporters, said efforts are underway to find out if the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena can chalk out a common minimum programme to conducively run the next government in the state. The meeting scheduled tomorrow is expected to determine if the post-poll alliance could be sealed, the top Congress leader said.

"We are trying to find whether Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP can come together. There is a meeting tomorrow between the leaders of Shiv Sena and Congress. We will find out if we can go ahead or not," the former Maharashtra CM said.

Update by ANI

Apart from the delegation-level talks between Sena and Congress, the latter's president - Sonia Gandhi - will be meeting her NCP counterpart Sharad Pawar in the national capital. The meeting comes amid reports that the Congress would prefer NCP to take the lead in government formation, even though the chief ministerial post would be ceded to Sena.

Speculations are rife that Sena - being the largest seat-holder among the trio with 56 MLAs - would hold the maximum portfolios, followed by NCP - with 54 legislators. The latter could be given the deputy CM's post.

Even as the Sena has reiterated the snapping of ties with the BJP, RPI(A) leader Ramdas Athawale made a startling claim on Sunday. After attending the NDA meeting in Delhi, Athawale quoted BJP chief Amit Shah as saying that the two parties will soon come together to form the government.

"I told Amit bhai (BJP president Amit Shah) that if he mediates then a way can be found out to which he (Amit Shah) replied 'don't worry, everything will be fine. BJP and Shiv Sena will come together to form government'," Athawale was reported as saying by news agency ANI.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 17, 2019 08:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).