Uddhav Thackeray to be Chief Minister of NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena alliance

Mumbai : Uddhav Thackeray will be the Chief Minister of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party-Congress alliance government in Maharashtra, said Sharad Pawar after the late-night meeting of the three parties.

Shiv Sena chief has agreed to take up the CM post, confirmed his party.

"We all have consensus on the name of Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister," said Sharad Pawar, emerging from the meeting at the Nehru Science Centre. Seconds later, Uddhav Thackeray came out with his son Aaditya and said: "Discussions were positive, fruitful."

After a week of President's rule in the state, it is now certain that Maharashtra will get a Shiv Sena CM after 20 years.

State Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari cancelled his weekend trip to Delhi for a three-day conference and decided to stay in Mumbai, in a sign that the alliance is on track and may stake claim to power any time now.

Pre-poll allies BJP and Shiv Sena had won the majority votes in the Assembly Elections, but the two parties split up after power tussle in the state.

Last Monday, Shiv Sena officially broke up with the BJP and pulled out their lone minister in PM Narendra Modi government. Hours later, Uddhav Thackeray called up Sonia Gandhi to fix a meeting.

Sharad Pawar turned out to be a bridge between Congress and Shiv Sena as he met Sonia Gandhi twice in Delhi last week.