Devendra Fadnavis meets Raj Thackeray, MNS likely to get cabinet berth in Maharashtra govt
India Today
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis met Raj Thackeray on Friday and as per sources, the BJP is likely to give MNS a ministerial berth in the state government.
Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday met Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray at 'Shivtirtha', his residence, at Dadar in central Mumbai.
The meeting between the two leaders assumes significance in view of the upcoming elections to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and the pending expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
As per sources, the BJP is keen on offering a cabinet berth to MNS. Raj Thackeray's political outfit has only one MLA (Raju Patil from Dombivali constituency) in the Assembly.
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Earlier this month, Thackeray had written an open letter to Fadnavis, praising him for setting an example of party loyalty and commitment by taking over as deputy chief minister of the state despite being the frontrunner for the top post. MNS has also extended its support to the BJP in Rajya Sabha, MLC and the upcoming presidential polls. So, the BJP is likely to reward MNS with one cabinet berth.
There was a buzz that Raj Thackeray's son, Amit Thackeray, would be proposed as a possible candidate for the ministerial berth, but Raj Thackeray has put an end to this speculation and termed it fake news after his meeting with Devendra Fadnavis today.
Meanwhile, the BJP is now eyeing to capture power in BMC, which has been ruled by Shiv Sena for the last thirty years.
