Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress finalise CMP for Maharashtra

A 40-point common minimum programme (CMP) was finalised by Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress yesterday. This was prepared after a series of meetings were held between the three parties in Mumbai yesterday. The meeting was attended by Congress leaders Prithviraj Chavan, Vijay Wadettiwar and Manikrao Thakre, NCP’s Jayant Patil, Nawab Malik and Chhagan Bhujbal and Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai.

The state is currently under President’s rule as no party could manage to form the government after poll results came out on 24th of last month. Shiv Sena refused to form the government with BJP in Maharashtra despite a pre-poll alliance as the latter refused to entertain its demand for sharing the chief minister's post on a rotational basis. 

Addressing the media after the meeting of the three parties Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena held in Mumbai yesterday, Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar said the final draft 'common minimum programme' will



be sent to all the three-party chiefs for approval. 

He said discussions regarding power-sharing and government formation will proceed only after the draft ‘common minimum programme' is approved by all the three parties. A meeting between NCP Chief Sharad Pawar and the Congress President Sonia Gandhi is likely to be held in Delhi on Sunday, where the draft of 'common minimum programme' will be discussed among other things. 

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray may also meet Sharad Pawar on Sunday itself. Talking about the draft common minimum programme, former Congress Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said they took note of Shiv Sena’s manifesto as well as their own manifesto and drafted the common minimum programme. He said it is not an election manifesto, but an action plan for providing clean and transparent administration. He added that contentious issues have been dropped.