The Sharad Pawar-Sonia Gandhi Phone Call That Thwacked Shiv Sena’s Plans

Maharashtra Government Formation: Sharad Pawar spoke to Sonia Gandhi and expressed some reluctance to go ahead, announcing it used to be too early to promise guide to the Shiv Sena.
HIGHLIGHTS:
Sharad Pawar’s name to Sonia Gandhi deepened her reluctance: sources
Mr Pawar stated it used to be too early to promise aid to Shiv Sena
He had not given letter of support to Sena yet, Mrs Gandhi was once told
The Shiv Sena used to be hoping to stake claim to power in Maharashtra on Monday evening with the help of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress, which would raise its numbers to 154 in the assembly — nine previous the majority mark.
Among the elements which may additionally have queered its pitch at the eleventh hour was a phone name between Congress president Sonia Gandhi and NCP chief Sharad Pawar.
Sources say Sonia Gandhi had softened on her objections to assisting the ideologically opposite Shiv Sena on Monday evening. But a well-timed smartphone call from Sharad Pawar to Sonia Gandhi seems to have deepened the Congress’ reluctance.
In the morning, as the Congress kicked off a sequence of consultations on Maharashtra, Sonia Gandhi was stated to be strongly opposed to assisting the Sena. two
Her view – that aligning with the pro-Hindutva and hardline Sena would damage the Congress electorally – was once said to be supported through birthday celebration seniors like AK Antony and KC Venugopal, and Delhi-based Maharashtra leaders like Mukul Wasnik and Rajiv Satav.
A counterpoint was presented by means of Maharashtra Congress leaders like Sushil Kumar Shinde, Ashok Chavan, Prithviraj Chavan and Balasaheb Thorat, who believed it used to be wiser, underneath the circumstances, to lower back the Shiv Sena and maintain the BJP out.
Some in that meeting believed the Congress president was once coming around.
Around 5 pm on Monday, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray in his first ever call to Sonia Gandhi, made a formal request for support. The Congress president promised to get lower back to him after her consultations.
But about an hour later, Sharad Pawar spoke to Sonia Gandhi and expressed some reluctance to go ahead, saying it was too early to promise support to the Sena.
Mr Pawar reportedly informed Sonia Gandhi that many aspects of strength sharing still wished to be negotiated, and that he had not given the Sena a letter of support. two
Crucially, he referred to that his celebration was just two seats short of the Sena. That seemed to indicate a rethink with the aid of the NCP on whether the Sena must assume the chief minister’s put up for a full term. Was Mr Pawar hinting at a power-sharing agreement, questioned Congress leaders who had been privy to the developments.
This sequence of events runs contrary to the NCP’s announcement that it was ready to provide guide to the Sena, but the Congress had performed spoilsport. As Ajit Pawar, NCP leader informed the media, “From morning 10 am till 7:30 pm on Monday, our leaders including Sharad Pawar, Praful Patel had been waiting for their letter. They (Shiv Sena) had to publish the letter by 7:30 pm. If Congress used to be no longer sending its letter of support, how could we provide ours,” Ajit Pawar disclosed.
The Congress however says Mr Pawar’s seeming U-turn, which came simply hours earlier than the Governor’s deadline to the Sena, solely served to heighten the Congress’s reluctance to support the Sena.
Finally, the Congress put out a noncommittal announcement barring bringing up the Sena at all, pronouncing it would keep discussions with Sharad Pawar.
At the Raj Bhawan, the Sena delegation led by way of Aaditya Thackeray requested greater time to convey NCP and Congress letters of support, but the governor refused.
Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari first requested the BJP, then Sena and finally the NCP, all within three days, earlier than recommending President’s Rule. Opposition events have criticized the move, alleging that the governor rushed into the decision at the BJP’s occasion besides arduous all options.