New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who is in Delhi with his deputy Devendra Fadnavis, on Saturday (July 9) expressed confidence about completing his term and said only the BJP and Shiv Sena will have a “natural alliance”. can take. State ahead. Addressing a press conference along with Fadnavis, Shinde said a decision on the expansion of the Maharashtra Council of Ministers would be taken in the coming week in Mumbai.
“The existence of our MLAs was in danger under the MVA government, then we could not speak so we took the step. It is only the natural alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena that can take Maharashtra forward,” the Maharashtra CM was quoted as saying by ANI.
Shinde and Fadnavis, who arrived in Delhi on Friday night, met President Ram Nath Kovind, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP President JP Nadda today. Both are also scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the evening.
On Friday, the Maharashtra CM and his deputy had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah during which the power-sharing arrangement was discussed and finalised, PTI reported.
Meanwhile, Shinde also rejected his predecessor and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray’s call for mid-term polls. He said the Maharashtra government was “strong” with the support of 164 MLAs in the House of 288, while the opposition had only 99 MLAs.
When asked about the BJP cadre’s unhappiness over his “demotion” to the post of deputy CM, Fadnavis said the workers are happy that the “injustice” done to him in 2019 has been rectified.
“My party first made me the CM, now we have followed the party’s decision as per the need of the party. Eknath Shinde is our leader and CM. We will work under him. Injustice was undone,” he said, adding that BJP workers were happy as “natural allies” BJP and Shiv Sena had formed the government, scrapping the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance from power.
(with agency input)