Amid weeks of speculations over the cabinet expansion, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda on Saturday.
The secret meeting in Delhi comes after the cabinet expansion has been postponed several times in the recent past, sources said. They added that the cabinet expansion is likely to take place in the first week of August.
Both Fadnavis and Shinde landed in Delhi in separate chartered planes on Saturday evening and went back to Mumbai post-midnight, sources said.
However, there has not been any official confirmation on the meetings and both Fadnavis and BJP headquarters in Delhi have denied of any such meeting taking place in Delhi on Saturday.
Fadnavis and Shinde had also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah earlier this month, where there was discussion regarding the new government to be formed in the state.
Eknath Shinde is firm on the 50-50 formula in the cabinet expansion, while the BJP is adamant on 60-40 formula. Sources said BJP is likely to get 27 cabinet ministries while the Shinde camp will get 15 ministries.
BJP is of the opinion that Shinde camp should keep urban development and Public Works Department, while the Home and Finance will remain with the saffron party.
The Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, which came to power after a high-voltage political drama, completed one month in office on Saturday.
Shinde took oath as chief minister on June 30, a day after Uddhav Thackeray was forced to step down from the post following a rebellion by the majority of Sena legislators led by Shinde. Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as deputy chief minister.
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