New Delhi: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday said he would expand his council of ministers after discussions with his deputy Devendra Fadnavis next week and exuded confidence that he would complete his tenure in office.
Addressing a press conference during a whirlwind tour of the national capital, Shinde also dismissed his predecessor Uddhav Thackeray's call for mid-term polls in Maharashtra and asserted that his government is strong and stable with the support of 164 MLAs, while the opposition has only 99.
After their arrival here on Friday evening, Shinde and Fadnavis met President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP president J P Nadda.
On Friday night, the duo had a long meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah during which the broad contours of the power-sharing arrangement in the new Maharashtra government were learnt to have been finalised.
Shinde and Fadnavis left for Pune on Saturday evening en route Pandharpur, where the chief minister will worship Lord Vitthal on the occasion of Ashadi Ekadashi.
Shinde and Fadnavis assumed office on June 30, after Thackeray resigned as the chief minister facing a massive rebellion in the Shiv Sena that brought down the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government.
Asked whether he was disappointed at the "demotion" to the post of deputy chief minister, Fadnavis said he had merely followed the directives of his party. "My party made me big by appointing me as the chief minister. It is not a question of being large hearted. I have followed the directives of my party," Fadnavis, who served as the Maharashtra chief minister from 2014 to 2019, said.