Mumbai, November 11: Shiv Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray has been proposed as the chief ministerial candidate in the pact which the party has proposed to the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The two alliance partners have been offered one post of Deputy Chief Minister each, said reports citing sources within the Sena camp. Any official confirmation was awaited by the time this report was first published. 'BJP's Strategy to Impose President's Rule in Maharashtra': Shiv Sena Sees Ploy as Governor Issues 7:30 PM Deadline to Stake Claim.

Within Sena, the proposal of Uddhav Thackeray leading the next government has been unanimously cleared, reported CNN News 18. The party is expected to meet the Governor at 2:30 pm -- five hours before the deadline to stake claim expires. The meeting, however, would take place only after the Congress and the NCP take the final call to support the Sena-led government.

Early on Monday, the NCP and the Congress called a meeting of their core group members to finalise on whether they should extend support to Shiv Sena or allow the state to slip into President's rule, which will lead to another assembly elections within the next six months.

The meeting at 10 Janpath in Delhi, chaired by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, was underway by the time this report was published. The meeting of NCP leaders called by Sharad Pawar in Mumbai had ended at around noon, but the party was yet to issue a statement.

Notably, the state was thrown into a political impasse after the results of assembly polls were announced last month. Although the BJP-Sena alliance sailed above the majority mark, the "Mahayuti" could not form the government. The Thackeray-led alliance asserted for rotational chief ministership -- a demand which the BJP categorically rejected.

With the BJP not budging to Sena's demand, the latter began "exploring other options" to form the government. In the discussions held with Opposition parties over the past fortnight, said Sena MP Sanjay Raut, feelers were received of support from the NCP and the Congress for them. A total of 170 MLAs can support the Shiv Sena-led government, Raut had claimed last week.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 11, 2019 12:23 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).