Sharad Pawar met Uddhav Thackeray at his home on Monday. (File)
Strong points
- Uddhav Thackeray convened meeting of alliance partners
- The Shiv Sena and the NCP have denied any fracture
- No threat to Maharashtra government, says Sharad Pawar
Mumbai / New Delhi:
Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray has called a meeting of his alliance partners amid reports of a flaw. Speculation culminated in strained ties after a meeting between the Prime Minister and his ally Sharad Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
The Shiv Sena and the NCP denied any divergence, but a comment by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, appearing to distance himself from decision-making in Maharashtra and ascribing only a supporting role to his party, raised more problems.
Sharad Pawar has denied that a series of recent meetings he has held indicate an overhaul on his part.
“Fadnavis is getting impatient,” Pawar told GalacticGaming, referring to the former chief minister and implying that Devendra Fadnavis and his BJP party are trying to overthrow the government.
“But there is no threat to the government of Maharashtra. All the deputies are with us, any attempt to break them at that time will cause the public to beat us,” said Mr. Pawar.
Maharashtra is most affected in India’s battle against the coronavirus – the city of Mumbai has the highest number of cases in the country.
The BJP opposition attacked the state government for its handling of the crisis. Senior BJP official Narayan Rane said the state should be under the rule of the president and the government of Prime Minister Uddhav Thackeray should be removed from office.
The Shiv Sena, after the election of Maharashtra last year, broke up with the BJP after a thirty-year alliance.
Mr. Pawar was instrumental in creating an alliance between Shiv Sena, the NCP and Congress; and their new government, called Maha Vikas Aghadi, took over the state.
