Sena MP Sanjay Raut calls on NCP chief Pawar

In a new twist to the political drama being enacted by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut, Sena MP and close aide of Uddhav Thackrey, met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Supremo Sharad Pawar.

The Sena MP claimed that he met Pawar without sharing any detail of the meeting.

However, it's unlikely that Pawar will throw his hat in this slugfest, till both the warring parties clear their stands, sources say.

On Thursday, the NCP Supremo had a series of meetings with Congress leaders, including former Chief Ministers Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan, and they discussed the ongoing BJP-Sena power tussle. However, both the parties have not revealed their cards except many second-rung leaders advocating a Sena-headed government supported by the NCP-Congress.

Though Chavan has been hinting at supporting a non-BJP formation, party leaders in Delhi have maintained that Pawar's counsel and advice will be sought before moving forward.

The Congress wants the Sena to openly walk out from the alliance and then seek open support from the opposition.

Hussain Dalwai, Congress Rajya Sabha member, told IANS, "Any decision of supporting the Sena will depend when the Uddhav Thackrey-led party walks out of the alliance."

Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said there was no proposal from the Sena yet.IANS