Maharashtra, August 13: The Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan held a meeting on Thursday night of two ruling coalition partners for better coordination between them.
Apart from Chavan, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) president Manikrao Thakre and Mumbai unit chief Kripashankar Singh are members of the co-ordination committee.
The party is yet to announce two more names.
The 10 member committee was formed in the backdrop of differences between the two allies on various issues, including Chavan’s style of functioning.
NCP was represented by Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal, Home Minister R R Patil, Power Minister Ajit Pawar, state NCP president Madhukar Pichad and civil aviation minister Praful Patel.
Both the parties will have five members each in the committee.
Congress sources said finalisation of names was delayed since AICC president Sonia Gandhi was out of the country.
They did not rule out the possibility of inclusion of a union minister in the committee.
Sources said the need of the hour was to bring co-ordination in organisational matters and government functioning.
Differences between the 10-year-old allies surfaced when Congress spokesman Hussain Dalwai accused the NCP of instigating riots in Sangli-Miraj in Western Maharashtra last year to win votes.
Chavan, who belongs to the Congress, had suggested setting up of a co-ordination committee to iron out differences and ensure smooth functioning of his government.
NCP ministers are said to be unhappy with Chavan for not taking them into confidence while taking key policy decisions.
They also complain that the Chief Minister delays signing of files related to their departments.
However, Congress has defended Chavan saying he had the right to take decisions after going through all aspects since the final responsibility rests with him.
—Agencies