Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis meet Modi and other BJP bigwigs after replacing Uddhav Thackeray govt in Maharashtra

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his Lok Kalyan Marg residence in Delhi.

"The Chief Minister of Maharashtra Shri Eknath Shinde and the Deputy Chief Minister Shri Devendra Fadnavis called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi," the Prime Minister's Office said on Twitter.

Earlier, addressing a press conference here, Shinde said he would try and understand the prime minister's vision for the development of the state and strive to take Maharashtra to newer heights.

Shinde and Fadnavis assumed office on June 30 after Thackeray resigned as chief minister, facing a massive rebellion in his Shiv Sena party.

As many as 40 Shiv Sena MLAs and 10 independents walked out of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi, an alliance formed with Congress and NCP, last month accusing Thackeray of deviating from the ideals of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray.

The visit comes as the first tour for Shinde after taking charge of the office as the CM. With the buzz of Maharashtra cabinet being expanded in two phases doing rounds, the meeting is significant as reportedly the first announcements of the cabinet will be made before the presidential elections.

Shinde on Monday won the floor test in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on the last day of the two-day special session of the House. In the 288-member House, 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence, while 99 voted against it.

Shinde was sworn in as CM on June 30, a day after Uddhav Thackeray quit the post. BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy CM.