Late-Night Meeting Between Shinde And Fadnavis To Discuss Power-Sharing With Ajit Pawar's NCP Faction

Following Ajit Pawar's defection from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and subsequent inclusion of his faction in the Maharashtra coalition government, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis held a late-night meeting with Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to discuss power-sharing.

The meeting lasted until 2 am. They deliberated on a cabinet expansion, prompted by the entry of Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday (2 July).

These discussions took place shortly after reports surfaced claiming that MLAs from the Shinde camp were uneasy about Ajit Pawar joining the ruling coalition. However, the party refuted these claims, emphasizing that Eknath Shinde had no intentions of stepping down as CM.

Uday Samant, a leader from the Shiv Sena, stated, "We are not resignation givers but takers. His leadership is to take everyone along and be patient. Yesterday, all the MLAs, MPs have reposed faith in Eknath Shinde... all this (reports of discontent) is being done to malign Eknath Shinde."

Eknath Shinde also dismissed any internal differences within the party. He asserted, "With our government now comprising three parties, our MLAs' strength exceeds 200. Our government is only growing stronger. We have the support of PM Modi and Amit Shah."

Ajit Pawar's statement expressing his desire to become Chief Minister had sparked a row. Now Pawar's focus is to get recognized by the Election Commission as the real NCP and to retain the party's name and symbol.

Currently, he has the support of 32 MLAs, while Sharad Pawar has the support of 14. However, Ajit Pawar requires the support of 36 MLAs, a two-thirds majority of the party's 53 legislators, for the Election Commission to consider his claim.