The three parties are likely to share ministerial berths according to their strength in the assembly.
Leaders of the NCP and the Congress are meeting in Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the power-sharing formula with the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.
Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Nawab Malik from the NCP and Ahmed Patel, Mallikarjun Kharge, Balasaheb Thorat, Prithviraj Chavan from the Congress are meeting at the NCP chief's residence in Delhi.
The formula finalised in the meeting will then be presented to top leadership of the two parties and after their approval will be taken to the Shiv Sena.
Sena is locked in talks with Congress and NCP after its alliance with the BJP fell apart. BJP and Shiv Sena fought Maharashtra elections together but fell out over the later's demand of '50-50' formula or a rotational chief minister.
In the recently-concluded assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 105 seats while the Shiv Sena has 56 MLAs in the 288-member assembly. NCP and Congress won 54 and 44 seats, respectively.
What is Sena-NCP-Congress formula?
The three parties are likely to share ministerial berth according to their strength in the assembly. Accordingly, 16-15-12 formula is being charted out between Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress, respectively.
The council of ministers Maharashtra can have 43 members.
While the 16-15-12 is likely to be final, there is still some discussion underway on the posts of the chief minister and deputy chief minister. Some leaders in the NCP are pushing for a rotational chief minister - two and half years each for Sena and NCP - as the Pawar-led party is only 2 MLAs behind the Shiv Sena.
Sources said the Shiv Sena has not objected to a 50:50 formula for the CM post.
In that case, Congress may get a deputy CM for a full 5-year term.
Details regarding the assembly speaker's post also need to be ironed out. It is clear that the NCP-Congress combine will get the post but the two parties have not yet decided who will be their candidate.
The NCP-Congress meeting on Wednesday is also likely to discuss an alliance with the Shiv Sena for local polls and next state and general elections. Since Congress and NCP already share an alliance, the details about how Shiv Sena will be accommodated need to be finalised.
The two parties are also discussing ideological issues, especially the differences with the Shiv Sena.
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