Maharashtra power tussle: Congress' top brass arrives in Mumbai to meet Sharad Pawar

Top Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Ahmed Patel and KC Venugopal on Tuesday evening arrived in Mumbai to meet Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar to discuss the political fate of Maharashtra where the government formation is getting delayed.

Former Maharashtra chief minister, Ashok Chavan asserted the Congress party stands united with the NCP and a decision with regard to the formation of the government in the state will be taken after meeting of senior leaders on Tuesday.

Yesterday, Congress' interim president Sonia Gandhi spoke to NCP chief Sharad Pawar to discuss the political crisis in the state.

NCP had said that it will take a decision on government formation in Maharashtra by Tuesday after holding consultations with its ally Congress. The NCP finished on the third position in the assembly polls having won 54 seats.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena, today filed a plea in the Supreme Court against Governor Koshyari's decision not to extend the time given to it to prove its ability to form the government in the state.

The recommendation for President's Rule came even as the Governor had on Monday given time to the NCP till 8.30 pm on Tuesday to indicate the willingness and ability to form the government in Maharashtra.

The Governor had earlier given the same opportunity to the Shiv Sena, which finished second in the assembly polls but did not agree to its appeal to give additional time to produce letters of support.

The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance, which got a majority in the Assembly elections, failed to form the government due to differences over power-sharing.

The BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party in the Assembly polls with 105 seats in the results declared on October 24, declined to stake the claim to form the government.