The NCP-Congress combine and the Shiv Sena which are engaged in talks for the formation of government in Maharashtra have sorted out their ideological differences on major issues and decided to come together in the interest of farmers, unidentified sources said on Sunday.

All three parties have agreed that the top-most rallying point should be solutions to farmer and rural distress, the unidentified sources within the Congress and NCP camp said.

“The difference in ideology is a major hindrance and we have almost settled on all major issues. As part of the common minimum programme, all three parties (including the Shiv Sena), have agreed that the top-most rallying point should be solutions to the farmer and rural distress. Shiv Sena has agreed too. Hence, if questioned about ideological differences, we are ready to state that we have come together in the interest of our farmers,” the sources said.

They further said that the common minimum programme has been completed and submitted to the Congress high command who will take the final decision on the next course of action after meeting NCP chief’s Sharad Pawar in Delhi tomorrow.

Allies Congress and NCP have worked out a common minimum programme with the Shiv Sena for government formation.

Shiv Sena leaders also clarified that reports of Pawar allying with the BJP are pure fiction and are a result of stories planted by the BJP state leadership.

Earlier today, Pawar had convened a meeting of the NCP's core committee in Pune.

Maharashtra, which has been under President’s rule since November 12, witnessed several turns of political events since October 24 when the results of the recently-held Maharashtra Assembly elections were declared.

The BJP and the Shiv Sena that fought the Assembly polls together engaged in a bitter tussle over the 50:50 power-sharing formula over the chief ministerial post.

The Shiv Sena insisted on equal distribution of cabinet berths and sharing the CM post with its ally BJP for 2.5 years, claiming that the deal was finalised before this year’s Lok Sabha polls. The BJP, however, remained adamant on its stand that Devendra Fadanvis will continue to be the chief minister for the entire term and also rejected Sena’s claim.

The BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party after the last month's state elections, could not form government in the state as Shiv Sena refused to support its ally and engaged in talks with Congress-NCP combine to form the government in the state. The BJP and the Shiv Sena have not snapped their ties formally as yet.

In the Maharashtra elections, the BJP won 105 seats in 288-member Assembly followed by the Shiv Sena, 56, NCP, 54, and the Congress, 44.