Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said he will expand his council of ministers next week after discussions with his deputy Devendra Fadnavis and expressed confidence that he will complete his term in office. Addressing a press conference during a whirlwind tour of the national capital, Shinde also slammed his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray’s call for mid-term polls in Maharashtra and said his government is strong and stable with the support of 164 MLAs, while the opposition Has only 99.
After arriving here on Friday evening, Shinde and Fadnavis met President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President JP Nadda. On Friday night, the two held a lengthy meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during which the broad contours of the power-sharing arrangement in the new Maharashtra government were finalised.
Shinde and Fadnavis left for Pune on Saturday evening via Pandharpur, where the chief minister would worship Lord Vitthal on the occasion of Ashadh Ekadashi. Shinde and Fadnavis took office on June 30, when Thackeray resigned as chief minister, facing a massive insurgency in the Shiv Sena that brought down the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.
Asked whether he was disappointed with the “demotion” to the deputy chief minister’s post, Fadnavis said he only followed the instructions of his party. He said, ‘My party has made me big by making me the chief minister. It is not a question of a big heart. I have followed the instructions of my party,” Fadnavis, who served as the chief minister of Maharashtra from 2014 to 2019, said.
I am with Shinde. I have been the Chief Minister and I know that the Chief Minister is a leader. We will work under Shinde’s leadership. Our primary goal is to make this government a success.” Shinde rubbished allegations that he had betrayed the Shiv Sena by removing Thackeray as the chief minister.
We are following the ideals of Balasaheb Thackeray. He taught us to rise up against injustice. This is not defection. This is a revolution. All the MLAs are voluntarily associated with me.” He said that leaders like Sanjay Raut have nothing but to make allegations. Shinde insisted that he was the leader of the “real” Shiv Sena and added that the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker had also recognized his group as such.
He said he tried to reach out to Thackeray on at least three or four occasions with a request to join hands with the BJP, a “natural ally” of the Shiv Sena, but failed to convince him. Shinde also came to the rescue of the BJP, which is often accused of going to any lengths to come to power in the states.
“The BJP has 115 MLAs and people expected a BJP chief minister in Maharashtra. People used to say that BJP breaks other parties to come to power. I have 50 MLAs. Can people now say the same thing about the BJP? they can not. A small worker like me has got a chance to become the Chief Minister. Fadnavis said BJP workers were unhappy after Shiv Sena pulled out of alliance with the saffron party to form government in Maharashtra with the help of Congress and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2019.
“In 2019, BJP workers felt humiliated. We had sought votes together, but our colleague left us. Party workers are happy now. His pain is gone now.
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