Sena not attending NDA meet, break-up a formality: Raut

In a significant development that can change political equations, the Shiv Sena will skip Sunday's meeting of the ruling NDA, called on the eve of the winter session of the Parliament.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena has now aligned with Congress and NCP, which sit on Opposition benches breaking ties with BJP, which commands the leadership position of NDA.

“No…we will not attend the meeting,” said Shiv Sena spokesperson and Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Raut.

The development comes barely six days after the Sena withdrew its sole nominee in the Narendra Modi government, the then minister for heavy industries and public enterprises Arvind Sawant.

The second biggest group of the NDA after the BJP, the Shiv Sena has 18 Lok Sabha MPs and three Rajya Sabha MPs and had been a constituent of the NDA during the tenure of former prime minister late Atal Behari Vajpayee, and later in the first term of Modi, and the first six months of Modi's second tenure.

Incidentally, on Sunday, NCP president Sharad Pawar and Congress Interim President Sonia Gandhi are likely to have a meeting to finalise the government in Maharashtra.