Senior Congress leaders including Ahmed Patel and KC Venugopal will meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday at his residence in Mumbai.

The leaders are likely to hold a discussion on Thursday's swearing-in ceremony of Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as the state's new Chief Minister, along with the probable names for the new Cabinet. and the names that will be included in the new cabinet.

Earlier today, Maharashtra Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat said the sharing of portfolios among the 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (grand alliance) partners will be finalised in a couple of days.

The alliance along with some small parties and Independents has decided to stake a claim for government formation in the state after the BJP-led government collapsed on Tuesday.

The three parties have claimed support of 166 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

Speaking to reporters after taking oath as a member of the 14th state Assembly on Wednesday, Thorat, the Congress Legislature Party leader in the House, said, "The ratio of portfolio-sharing will be finalised in next two days. The number of Cabinet and Minister of State (MoS) posts to be given to each party will also be finalised in the next two days."

The NCP has announced that Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray would be the next chief minister of Maharashtra.

He will be sworn in CM on Thursday evening at Shivaji Park in Dadar, the place where his party holds traditional Dussehra rally each year.

Thackeray is currently not a member of any House in the state legislature.

Asked whether Congress president Sonia Gandhi or party leader Rahul Gandhi would attend Thackeray's swearing-in ceremony, Thorat said, "Nothing has been finalised so far on this."

He also said that there will be more clarity on some issues, like the speaker of the Assembly, after a couple of days.

Asked about rumours that he may be appointed the deputy chief minister, Thorat said, "I am not aware of any such possibility so far. I can't comment on any such speculation."

Uddhav also met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The Maharashtra CM-designate was accompanied by wife Rashmi, an official said.

The Shiv Sena chief will be the first from the Thackeray family to be sworn in as the chief minister.

He will replace BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who resigned as CM on Tuesday, barely 80 hours after taking oath for the second time, after the resignation of his deputy Ajit Pawar citing "personal reasons".

Fadnavis was sworn in on November 23 in an early morning hush ceremony, with the support of Ajit Pawar, who then headed the 54-member NCP legislature party.

The NCP removed Ajit Pawar as its legislature party leader the same day after he took oath as the deputy chief minister of the state.

The stage is now set for Uddhav Thackeray to be sworn in as the new chief minister on Thursday.

His father late Bal Thackeray wielded the 'remote control' over the first Sena-BJP combine government during 1995-99 but never assumed a position in the government.