Shinde meets Modi second time in five days

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde met Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the second time in five days on Saturday, amid rumours of increasing uneasiness in his Shiv Sena party since the induction of Ajit Pawar's NCP faction into the government.

Shinde was in Delhi earlier on Tuesday to attend the NDA meeting. His latest visit comes also in the backdrop of a buzz that the BJP may prop up Ajit Pawar as the chief minister. While till now the opposition has been making such a claim and the Shinde camp has been maintaining that there is no threat to his post, now even those close to Ajit Pawar have publicly said that he would soon become the CM.

On Friday night, Amol Mitkari, a legislative council member who is close to Ajit Pawar and is the spokesperson of the faction, tweeted that the NCP leader would take oath as the CM very soon.


Shinde, who travelled to Delhi with his father and MP-son Shrikant, said it was a "courtesy visit" to the PM.

"We discussed several projects of the state, access-control roads, a water grid for Marathwada; he was very positive about these projects and assured us all help from the Centre," said Shinde.