Maharashtra cabinet expansion: Ajit Pawar, Praful Patel reach Delhi to meet Amit Shah

New Delhi: Senior NCP leaders Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel arrived in the national capital on Wednesday evening for a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and top BJP leaders amid the impasse over portfolio allocation in Maharashtra. Speaking to reporters, Nationalist Congress Party working president Patel dismissed suggestions of a rift in the ruling BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance in Maharashtra and said the issue of allocation of portfolios has been resolved and will be allocated. in a day or two.

In a surprising development on July 2, Sharad Pawar-led NCP split as his nephew Ajit Pawar and around three dozen MLAs joined the ruling Shiv Sena-BJP alliance. Ajit Pawar and eight other NCP leaders took oath as ministers.

“Don’t read much about our meetings here. It is just a courtesy meeting of senior BJP leaders. Ajit Dada and I have not had any formal meeting with the top BJP leadership. We met Home Minister Amit Shah and other BJP leaders. do.” Here,” Patel said.

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Patel said he and Ajit Pawar would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 18 when a meeting of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents has been called by the BJP.

He asserted that the issue of allocation of portfolios was resolved during two late night meetings between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar and them on Monday and Tuesday. Or two,” Patel said.

Patel said the NCP has not sought any share in the Union Council of Ministers. Asked whether the NCP would join the central government, Patel said, “We have not made any demand for a central ministry.”

Asked about the delay in allocation of portfolios in Maharashtra, Patel said the NCP did not discuss the matter with its alliance partners for four to five days after joining the government. Referring to the late night meetings held on Monday and Tuesday, he said, “We raised this issue a few days ago. We have had three meetings.”

Patel said there would be some issues in allocation of portfolios as the portfolios were distributed last year when BJP and Shiv Sena formed the government. “Now each of them has to give up some department to accommodate us,” he said. Patel parried questions on the prized finance portfolio, which Ajit Pawar is understood to be keen on. He said, “The picture will be clear in a day or two.”

Besides Patel and Ajit Pawar, senior NCP leader Hasan Mushrif is also in the national capital. Patel, however, said that Mushrif was here for some personal work and he would not attend the meeting with BJP leaders along with him and Ajit Pawar.