New Delhi: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the backdrop of the upcoming local bodies' elections in the state.
Shinde's meeting with the prime minister also comes at a time when a Shiv Sena leader has trained his guns on BJP's Lok Sabha member and Union Minister Murlidhar Mohol in connection with certain land deals in Pune. Mohol has rejected the charges made against him.
The prime minister has always taken a view that the NDA and Mahayuti are ideological alliances forged on the agenda of development, Shinde told reporters here after meeting PM Modi for nearly 90 minutes.
"It was a courtesy meeting for Diwali. I express my gratitude to him for giving time, even as campaigning for the Bihar elections is underway," he said.
Shinde is also learnt to have discussed the situation in Maharashtra, where local bodies' elections are scheduled to be held soon and local leaders of the alliance partners are keen that their respective parties contest the elections on their own strength and not as part of a coalition.
"These are grass roots elections, local leaders feel that they should contest elections," Shinde said when asked about differences in Mahayuti coalition over local bodies' elections.
However, he said when senior leaders of the coalition partners take a decision, the local leaders fall in line.
Shiv Sena is keen to contest the local elections as an equal partner of the BJP in Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, Palghar, Kalyan, Dombivli and Navi Mumbai municipal corporations.
On the war of words between Shiv Sena leader Ravindra Dhangekar and Mohol over land deals in Pune, Shinde said appropriate messages have been sent to ensure that there is no bitterness among the coalition partners.
"Ravindra Dhangekar has been sent a message that there should be no differences in Mahayuti. Each side has to take steps to ensure that there is no bitterness in Mahayuti," he said.
Dhangekar has levelled allegations of irregularities in land deals against Mohol, the Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation.
Dhangekar had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha elections on the Congress ticket and lost to Mohol from Pune. Dhangekar joined the Shiv Sena in March this year.