CM Thackeray meets Sharad Pawar, Shiv Sena says MVA govt strong

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with NCP president Sharad Pawar here, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday while asserting that the state government is "strong".

The two leaders met for about one-and-a-half hours late Monday evening, Raut said while dismissing speculations about the Thackeray-led government's stability.

The Sena Rajya Sabha MP, however, did not reveal what transpired between the two leaders.

The meeting between Thackeray and Pawar took place after the NCP chief met state Governor B S Koshyari on Monday morning. However, the timing of the meeting is significant as it took place against the backdrop of strained relations between the Shiv Sena, which heads the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, and the Raj Bhavan.

The NCP is one of the key constituents of MVA. Pawar was one of the key leaders from Maharashtra who had openly complained about Koshyari's "intervention" in the functioning of the state administration.