Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray. (PTI)

MUMBAI: CM Uddhav Thackeray will be in New Delhi on Friday to meet PM Narendra Modi and Congress president Sonia Gandhi even as Congress and NCP appear to have further piled up pressure on the Shiv Sena to reject the National Population Register, which the Sena is in favour of implementing.

A senior Congress minister told TOI that CAA, NRC and NPR may figure in the meeting between Thackeray and Sonia given the divide in the Maha Vikas Aghadi over the issues. Both Congress and NCP want the MVA to take the position adopted by non-BJP states, and state Congress chief Balasaheb Thorat reiterated on Thursday that his party would urge Thackeray to reconsider the Sena’s stand that NPR updation, set to begin in the state from May 1, was in the national interest.

This will be Uddhav’s first meeting with Sonia after becoming CM. His son Aaditya had met her in Delhi to invite her for his swearing-in ceremony in November 2019, but she did not attend. Aaditya will accompany Uddhav to Delhi on Friday as minister for tourism and protocol.

Sena MP and parliamentary party leader Sanjay Raut tweeted that the meeting with the PM would be a “courtesy call,” though Uddhav and Modi had met at a police conference in Pune soon after the latter was sworn in as CM. Raut stated, “There is no need to dig further, Jai Maharashtra.” However, sources said issues such as streamlining of payment of Maharashtra’s GST share and topics such as CAA-NRC-NPR may also be discussed.

Soures said Thackeray may congratulate Modi for announcing formation of a trust to construct the Ram mandir in Ayodhya. Uddhav had been pushing for the temple as part of the NDA before BJP and Sena ended their alliance after the state poll results. Even after he became CM, Uddhav said he would visit Ayodhya on March 7.

The Sena president had last year gone to Varanasi when PM Modi had filed his nomination papers for the April-May Lok Sabha elections, and Uddhav was in Gandhinagar as well to accompany then BJP chief Amit Shah for filing of his papers.

In a recent interview to Sena mouthpiece Saamna, Uddhav had said, when asked if he would go to Delhi, “It is not mandatory to visit Delhi, but I do not hate Delhi. Whenever required, I will visit.”

Asked if he would meet PM Modi and Sonia Gandhi, he had said, “Why I should not meet them? Will meet Modi, Soniaji, (LK) Advani.”

A Sena leader said chief ministers have to maintain a good rapport with the Centre for funds to be released smoothly and on time and for coordination on various issues.

On the even of Uddhav’s visit, NCP spokesperson and state minister Nawab Malik again spoke out against the NPR and said the MVA must examine the response of non-BJP states before taking a final stand on the matter. “Besides Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan, several other non-BJP states too have opposed NPR,” Malik said.

