Congress General Secretary Avinash Pandey said on Wednesday that the Congress will play its main role in forming a government with the Shiv Sena and NCP in Maharashtra on the basis of a minimum common program and maintaining its core principles and values. He said that the Congress leadership would soon hold discussions with Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and NCP chief Sharad Pawar regarding the formation of a new government in Maharashtra.

"The people of Maharashtra have given a fractured mandate to four parties and there is a need for a coalition government," he told reporters at a resort here. We have a discussion about what role the Congress can play in the formation of a new government. "