Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis to meet PM Narendra Modi on Saturday

PTI

New Delhi, July 9

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis are scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday as the new-found allies move towards constituting their council of ministers.

Shinde and Fadnavis, who assumed office on June 30, a day after the then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray quit in the face of a massive rebellion, are also expected to make courtesy calls on President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

The two Maharashtra leaders met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday night and are learnt to have discussed the broad contours of the power-sharing formula between the BJP and the Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena.

“I am confident that under the guidance of Narendra Modi, both of you will serve the people faithfully and take Maharashtra to newer heights of development," Shah said on Twitter on Friday night.

The visit of Shinde and Fadnavis to the national capital comes ahead of a crucial hearing in the Supreme Court on July 11 on a petition filed by the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena seeking disqualification of Shinde and 15 MLAs of his faction.

“We have faith in the judiciary,” Shinde told reporters in the national capital, asserting that the group led by him had the support of two-thirds of the Shiv Sena MLAs. The Shiv Sena had 55 MLAs before the split triggered by Shinde's revolt. Nearly 40 Shiv Sena MLAs had backed Shinde, who also enjoys support of Independents and MLAs from smaller outfits.

“The Speaker has also granted us recognition,” he said, referring to the decision of the newly elected Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

Shinde was sworn in as chief minister on June 30 with the support of the BJP after he rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray, walking out of the Shiv Sena with a large chunk of MLAs leading to the fall of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.

Shinde won the trust vote in the Maharashtra Assembly on July 4.

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