New Delhi: Almost a month after the assembly election results were announced, it appears that the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party and Congress may finally come together to stake claim to form the government. Soon after the Congress and NCP met on Thursday, former Maharashtra chief minister and senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan announced that it was in “complete unanimity” with the NCP. This means that the grand old party, which was until now opposed to allying with the far-right Shiv Sena, has agreed to the NCP appeal to form this unlikely alliance. As the Congress leadership opposed such an alliance, talks between the three parties had broken down, leading to the imposition of President’s rule in the state. However, it appears the Congress unit of Maharashtra has convinced party president Sonia Gandhi to join the Shiv Sena-led government. Sources said that almost the entire Maharashtra unit felt that the need of the hour was to push back against the BJP, which according to it has come to be recognised as the most dominant communal force in the country. Also read: Why Imposition of President’s Rule in Maharashtra Was UnconstitutionalCongress and NCP said that the two parties have completed their discussion on all issues related to government formation in Maharashtra and will now hold talks with Shiv Sena in Mumbai to “finalise the architecture of alliance” on Friday. Congress and NCP leaders had held a marathon meeting on Wednesday to thrash out the details of their alliance. “We have made significant progress. We will meet again tomorrow and then head to Mumbai for a discussion with Shiv Sena on Friday. A big announcement in the evening could be expected,” said Chavan, insisting that both the parties are committed to give Maharashtra a “stable government”. The alliance will also likely finalise a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and a power-sharing formula. Even though the three parties have decided to come together, there still may be two points of contention. NDTV reported that “the Shiv Sena is not in favour of rotational chief ministership, as the NCP wants.” Congress, on the other hand, has been insisting on including the term “secular” in the CMP, a factor that has discomfited Shiv Sena – a pro-Hindutva party.#BeyondTheHeadlines | Maharashtra Crisis: BJP Men Flout The Law, AgainAfter the Congress-NCP discussions ended, Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut said that letters of support from all the MLAs of the three parties would be handed over to the governor, Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, on Saturday. He said the government would be led by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. NCP’s Sharad Pawar is also likely to join the government. It remains to be seen whether both parties agree to a power-sharing formula. Rau muddied the waters on Thursday by stating that Sena would like to see Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister for all five years. Sources also claimed that Congress would like to hold the deputy chief minister’s chair for the whole tenure, but added that “it won’t be a big issue”. Sena had requested the NCP to finish its talks with Congress as soon as possible so that the three could go ahead with government formation. “If all goes well, a swearing in ceremony will take place on Sunday or Monday,” said Raut. (With inputs from PTI)