Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday amid discussions on cabinet expansion in Maharashtra. Representatives of the cooperative sugar sector, all belonging to the sector along with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, Shah met Shinde and Fadnavis at his North Block office in Delhi after the meeting to discuss the issues.
“Shinde and Fadnavis had a separate meeting with Shah,” said two BJP leaders who attended the sugar sector meeting. After the meeting, Shinde told reporters that the expansion of the state cabinet would take place before the budget session of the Maharashtra assembly. . At present, the state has 20 cabinet ministers including Shinde. The maximum strength of the Maharashtra cabinet can be 43.
When asked about the petitions before the Election Commission by rival factions of the party for allotment of the ‘bow and arrow’ symbol to the Shiv Sena, Shinde said he was confident that his group would be recognized as the real Shiv Sena.
Shinde said, “The Election Commission will decide on the issue on merits. Majority is important in a democracy. So, we expect a decision on merit.” Earlier in Mumbai, Fadnavis said there was no legal or constitutional hurdle in expanding the state cabinet and he would try to do it before the upcoming budget session of the assembly.
State Assembly Speaker Rahul Narvekar had earlier said that the budget session would begin on February 27.
Credit: bharat.republicworld.com /