The opposition alliance INDIA is likely to defer its third meeting in Mumbai to the first week of September after some leaders conveyed they may be unavailable on August 25-26 due to other engagements, sources said on Saturday. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, whose party recently saw a split, will embark on a tour of Maharashtra from mid-August and is among the leaders who will be unavailable next month, they said.
"August 25-26 is still under consideration but we are looking at another set of dates to ensure that everyone is available," a senior leader of the INDIA bloc in Mumbai said. Speaking at a press conference after a meeting of the Maha Vikas Aghadi on Friday, Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said MVA leaders have rallies lined up in August which had taken a backseat due to the monsoon.The MVA constituents -- Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena (UBT) -- are scheduled to meet again next Saturday.
While the Congress is leading the 26-member opposition alliance's efforts nationally, it was considered a junior partner in Maharashtra due to its numbers in the state assembly till the Shiv Sena and the NCP saw a split in their ranks. Former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray was projected as the leader of the MVA in the 'Vajramuth' rallies of the coalition before Ajit Pawar's rebellion led to a split in the NCP.