NCP blinks, Cong gets CMs post

With the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) blinking in the 11-day battle of nerves, the Congress tonight walked away with the post of the chief minister in Maharashtra with Sharad Pawar-led party remaining content with two additional Cabinet berths and as many portfolios.

The breakthrough in the tough bargaining, that began soon after the Assembly poll results were announced on October 16, came after the NCP's chief negotiator Praful Patel had a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi here this evening following which Congress general secretary in charge of party affairs in Maharashtra Margaret Alva and senior party leader Ahmed Patel, called on Pawar.

Later, Pawar spoke to Gandhi over phone and the two party chiefs gave their seal of approval to the power-sharing deal.

"We have agreed to continue the 1999 formula except that the NCP will have two more ministers of the Cabinet rank and one minister of state with two portfolios transferred to the NCP from the Congress," Alva told reporters in the presence of Praful Patel and Ahmed Patel. "We have resolved the issue to the satisfaction of both sides," she said.

The end to the stalemate and the clinching of the deal followed a flurry of meetings between the two allies during which Sonia Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Pawar.

The legislature parties of the Congress and the NCP will meet in Mumbai on Friday to elect their leaders. Asked whether incumbent Sushil Kumar Shinde would be the new chief minister, Alva and Ahmed Patel replied "Gandhi had led the Congress to victory in Maharashtra polls."

The day began with NCP leaders from Maharashtra having a meeting with Pawar discussing the Congress proposal for three additional ministerial berths and two more portfolios in return for the top post.

After the first round of meeting between Pawar and his party colleagues, the NCP chief called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to discuss the government formation. They were later joined by Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee who was the chief negotiator of the Congress.

Senior leaders of the NCP, including Patel, Vijaysinh Mohite Patil,  Chhagan Bhujbal,  DP Tripathi,  RR Patil, Ajit Pawar, Jayant Patil and Padamsinh Patil had another round of talks with Pawar.

As the suspense mounted and the series of meetings continued, Praful Patel drove to 10 Janpath and had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi in the evening following which she despatched Alva and Ahmed Patel to Pawar who resides in nearby 6 Janpath. Gandhi as also the Prime Minister spoke to Pawar on phone.

After Alva and Ahmed Patel met Pawar and talked to other NCP leaders, they, along with Praful Patel, came out and announced the deal before waiting mediapersons.

While the NCP has so far been insisting on two posts of deputy chief ministers, the party started singing a different tune today with a senior leader remarking that his party was not interested in creating two power centres, an indirect admission that the Congress was not willing to play ball.