Mumbai, July 17 -- In a major setback to the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in Maharashtra, the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) is reportedly set to forge an alliance with the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.
According to sources, Sharad Pawar is unlikely to formally merge his party with the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Instead, the NCP-SP is expected to join the ruling alliance by entering into a direct alliance with the Shinde-led Shiv Sena, potentially creating a new political arrangement within the broader Mahayuti coalition.
Sources also indicated that senior NCP-SP leader Jayant Patil could be inducted into the Maharashtra government as Finance Minister, a portfolio earlier held by the late NCP le...