New delhi sources stated that hours after the meeting between ncp president sharad pawar and congress chief sonia gandhi here to discuss the political situation in maharashtra, senior shiv sena leader sanjay raut met the maratha strongman and exuded confidence that the state would soon get a government led by his party. When talking to reporters after meeting Pawar at his residence here, Raut said he told the congress PARTY' target='_blank' title='nationalist congress party-Latest Updates, Photos, Videos are a click away, CLICK NOW'>nationalist congress party (NCP) chief that he should lead a delegation of state leaders and meet prime minister narendra modi to apprise him of the farm distress in maharashtra due to unseasonal rains.
Raut said "Since he (Pawar) was the Union agriculture minister and is also a senior leader, he should lead a delegation of leaders and meet the prime minister to apprise him about the farmers' woes in the country”. When asked whether there were talks on government formation in maharashtra, he parried the question, but exuded confidence and said, "The state will soon get a Sena led government." Earlier in the day, Pawar's meeting with gandhi lasted nearly 50 minutes.
Perhaps when talking to reporters, Pawar queered the pitch for the shiv sena in the formation of a new government in maharashtra, saying the issue was not discussed and remained non-committal as regards forging an alliance with his political rival. Earlier in the october 21 maharashtra polls, the BJP-Sena saffron alliance secured a comfortable majority by winning 105 and 56 seats respectively in the 288 member assembly, and the congress and the ncp won 44 and 54 seats respectively. However, the saffron parties parted ways, with both staking claim over the chief minister's post.
