Amid the political standoff in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Wednesday met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar and held a brief discussion on the situation.

This is the second time that Raut has met Pawar within a week. As he emerged out of the NCP supremo’s residence, Raut described it as a “courtesy visit like always”.

After his meeting with the NCP chief, the Sena leader said that Pawar is “worried” about the political situation in Maharashtra. “He is a senior leader of the state and the country. He is worried about the political situation in Maharashtra today. We had a brief discussion.”

Earlier in the day, Sanjay Raut had said that the BJP and Shiv Sena will only have discussions on the proposal that they had agreed upon before the assembly polls, and stressed that “no new proposals will be exchanged now”.

“Our alliance was formed on the basis of an agreement over the chief minister’s post. It was a one-line agreement that was decided before we fought elections together…why waste time talking of a new proposal,” Sanjay Raut questioned while speaking to reporters.

“Talks will only be on the proposal that was already discussed. If there is President’s Rule in Maharashtra, it will be unfair to the people. We will not be responsible for President’s rule,” Raut said, showing no softening of Sena’s stand with the deadline nearing. “Those conspiring to do this are insulting the people’s mandate,” he added.

The Shiv Sena has been firm on its demand for a 50-50 alliance formula, which party chief Uddhav Thackeray has claimed, was decided in talks with Amit Shah ahead of the polls.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sena had said that the political direction of the state, will depend upon the steps to be taken by “outgoing” Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The ongoing tussle has delayed formation of a government, a Constitutional obligation that has to be fulfilled before November 9 when the term of the current Legislative Assembly comes to end.

The vocal Raut had earlier said his party would install its chief minister with the support of “170 MLAs.” He had also asserted that his party was “fighting for justice and rights”. In a direct attack on ally BJP, the Sena leader also said that “swearing-in is not anyone’s monopoly”.

Meanwhile, Sanjay Raut along with another Sena leader, Ramdas Kadam, had on Monday met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari amid the stalemate over government formation.

Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Raut said that the Shiv Sena was “not responsible” for the standoff.

While the Sena had signalled that it had reached out to the NCP and the Congress, Sharad Pawar on Monday met Gandhi. He had said the NCP and the Congress lacked requisite numbers.

Sonia Gandhi has reportedly ruled out supporting the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra.

The Sena and the BJP are locked in a tussle since the Uddhav Thackeray-led party raised demand for the chief minister’s post on a rotational basis and implementation of a “50:50 power-sharing” formula, which entails equal allocation of ministerial portfolios.

The BJP has rejected both the demands.