Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s sudden trip to Delhi, just after former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s resignation, has triggered speculations that the impending Cabinet reshuffle could include some big names from Maharashtra.
Fadnavis’s visit gained eyeballs as he was expected to arrive in Nagpur on Saturday afternoon. However, he took a quick detour to Delhi. The sudden schedule change sparked rumours in the political circles.
While one section of the local media speculated that Fadnavis himself could shift his base to Delhi, the chatter from another corner was that the Maharashtra Chief Minister was in Delhi to discuss the potential entry of Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde into the Cabinet.
His visit to Delhi has sparked a flurry of speculation in political circles. Sanjay Raut, a member of Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena UBT) had stated that Fadnavis could be offered the opportunity to serve as the country's new Education Minister. This was before Prahlad Joshi was appointed as the new Education Minister.
He returned to Nagpur from Delhi in the evening but dodged questions from reporters about his visit.
However, the Chief Minister himself has addressed these concerns, dismissing any rumours that he would be leaving the state. "I am in Nagpur today and will go to Mumbai later; I live in Mumbai and will remain in Maharashtra."
Post Operation Tiger, which saw Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs switch sides, the prospects of Shiv Sena getting two to three Cabinet berths have grown stronger. However, the final decision on all these will be made only after discussions will be clear only after the meeting in Delhi. Due to Fadnavis and Shinde's visit to Delhi, many arguments are being made about the future political equations of the grand alliance.
