Separate late-night meetings between leaders of the ruling Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Opposition Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis have triggered fresh political speculation in the state.
The meetings come amid ongoing discussions over possible shifts in political alignments and days after senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was attempting to secure support from regional parties for the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.
Jayant Patil meets Chief Minister
According to reports, senior NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader Jayant Patil met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence, Varsha, in Mumbai late on Tuesday night.
Patil discussed issues related to his Uran-Islampur Assembly constituency in Sangli district during the meeting.
Patil did not meet the Chief Minister jointly with leaders from the ruling NCP.
Neither Patil nor the Chief Minister's Office has officially commented on the meeting.
Praful Patel, Sunil Tatkare also meet Fadnavis
Reports also suggest that senior leaders of the ruling NCP, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, separately met Fadnavis at his official residence.
However, the meetings were held independently and were not part of a joint discussion involving leaders from the rival NCP factions.
No official details regarding the agenda of the meetings have been disclosed.
The separate meetings have nevertheless sparked speculation in political circles about possible developments within Maharashtra's evolving political landscape.
Political developments add to speculation
The meetings come amid continued discussions about the future relationship between the two NCP factions, with political observers speculating about possible organisational or political realignments.
There has been no official confirmation from either faction regarding reports of a possible merger or any change in their respective political positions.
Leaders of both parties have also refrained from commenting on the speculation surrounding the late-night meetings.
Chidambaram raises concerns over proposed Constitutional amendment
The political developments coincide with remarks made by senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram, who alleged that the BJP was attempting to garner support from regional parties, including the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), for the proposed Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill.
In a post on X, Chidambaram claimed, "After splitting the TMC, the BJP is reportedly wooing the NCP(SP) and the DMK to garner the crucial votes to support the new version of the failed Bill."
He urged both parties not to support the proposed legislation, arguing that the planned delimitation exercise could adversely affect states that had successfully implemented population control measures.
The Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, which the Centre is expected to introduce during the Monsoon Session of Parliament beginning on July 20, proposes increasing the strength of the Lok Sabha to 850 seats and initiating a fresh delimitation exercise.
(With inputs from PTI)
* This article was originally published here
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