The danger to the ‘Pune Pattern’, the NCP-Sena-BJP alliance in the Pune Municipal Corporation, has blown over. The Shiv Sena, which had set a deadline of 5 pm, Tuesday, to let the NCP decide the fate of the ‘Pune Pattern’, has reasons to smile, because its demand, that the powers of the standing committee chairman, a Sena man, be restored “with full dignity” has been met.

The alliance ran into rough weather last week after NCP stripped standing committee chairman Shyam Deshpande of his budgetory powers. The power to decide the budget had been given to NCP leader in PMC, Anil Bhosale, evoking Sena anger.

Under the new arrangement worked out on Tuesday, instead of one party preparing the final budget, Deshpande, Bhosale and Vikas Mathkari of the BJP will finalise the budget to be presented at the civic general body meeting on February 20.

With this, the high drama played over the last few days after Deshpande was stripped of his budgetary powers, has come to an end. The decision to keep the alliance intact, according to leaders of the alliance, was taken in the interest of development in the city.

On Monday, the Shiv Sena had threatened to break off its ties with the NCP in the civic body. On Tuesday evening, District Guardian Minister Ajit Pawar held a meeting with Shiv Sena’s Pune district liaison chief Arvind Sawant, city unit chief Nana Wadekar, deputy mayor Chandrakant Mokate and Shyam Deshpande in Mumbai. After the meeting, it emerged that the alliance will not break. BJP state spokesperson Vinod Tavde, MLA Birish Bapat and corporator Mathkari were also present.

The meeting went on for about two hours. It was decided that the budgetary authority of Deshpande was to be returned while the 2009-10 budget would be finalised by PMC party heads of the NCP, the Shiv Sena and the BJP.