NCP chief Sharad Pawar, on Sunday, reiterated his party's commitment to support Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray "till the last minute," even as the political crisis in the state continues to unfold.
Pawar, who met leaders of NCP, Congress ministers Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan, and Shiv Sena's Anil Parab and Anil Desai to discuss the political fallout of the six-day-old rebellion, pointed out that Eknath Shinde and the rebel MLAs did not have a problem with the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the past 2.5 years.
“Eknath Shinde and other MLAs were there with the NCP in the government. They didn't have any problems in the last 2.5 years. Why does it happen today only? It is just an excuse...We will support CM Uddhav Thackeray till last minute," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
Shinde and other MLAs who are with him have spoken about the Shiv Sena forming a new alliance, but the policy of the NCP and the Congress is to support the coalition government that is already in place, the NCP chief said.
"MVA government is there and we want to continue supporting it."
Pawar had earlier said the fate of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government will be decided on the floor of the legislative assembly and not in Guwahati.
The Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress MVA government plunged into a crisis when Shinde walked away with a large chunk of Sena MLAs, criticising Thackeray's style of functioning.
—With PTI inputs
