Shah Meets BJP Allies Shinde, Ajit Pawar In Mumbai As Maharashtra Assembly Polls Loom

Picture source: PTI

Mumbai: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday held a meeting with Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at Mumbai's airport on Monday, as the state prepares for assembly elections likely to be held in November.

While details of the meeting remained undisclosed, sources indicated Shah, a senior BJP leader, assured the two leaders of a "respectful" distribution of assembly seats among the partners of the ruling coalition Mahayuti (grand alliance).

Shinde leads the Shiv Sena, while Pawar is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Both parties are key allies of the BJP in the state's ruling coalition.

The 288-member strong Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's term will end on November 26.

Shah, a former BJP president and influential poll strategist, was on a two-day visit to Mumbai during which he attended a function on Sunday evening for the release of a documentary film 'Mumbai Samachar- 200 Not Out', which chronicles the remarkable 200-year journey of Asia's oldest newspaper.

He later had a meeting with the core committee members of the state BJP at the Sahyadri Guest House in South Mumbai.

On Monday, before departing the city, Shah met with Shinde, Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, as well as NCP leaders Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare, among others.

Earlier in the day, Shah paid a visit to the iconic Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh pandal, accompanied by Chief Minister Shinde, Fadnavis, and BJP general secretary Vinod Tawde.

"Today I took darshan of the famous 'Raja of Lalbagh' of Mumbai, which has been a place of worship for many devotees like me for many decades," the Home Minister wrote on his official X handle.

The pandal, one of Mumbai's most famous and oldest, attracts around thousands of visitors daily during the ten-day Ganesh festival which this year began on September 7.

The origins of Lalbaugcha Raja date back to 1934 when local fishermen and traders established the Ganesh idol as a fulfilment of their prayers for a permanent marketplace. Today, it is revered as 'Navsacha Ganpati,' symbolizing a deity that grants wishes.

Following his visit to the pandal, Shah performed puja at the Ganesh idol at Fadnavis' residence and later at Shinde's official bungalow, 'Varsha.' He also offered prayers at the Bandra West Ganesh pandal, closely associated with Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar.

In a separate visit, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar attended the Lalbaugcha Raja pandal with his family, seeking divine strength to advocate for farmers and common citizens.

The veteran politician expressed his commitment to fighting for the interests of these groups in a post on social media.

"The glory of Mumbai's Ganesh festival can be seen in Girgaon. I visited the Lalbaughcha Raja pandal along with my family members and prayed for strength to fight for the causes of farmers and common people," Sharad Pawar said in his X handle.

BJP MLC Pravin Darekar, however, criticised Sharad Pawar's visit, suggesting it was politically motivated.

"Pawar visited the temple after so many years, and that too, for political reasons. It's pretentious of him to visit the pandal after previously attending events where Hindu deities were insulted without objection," Darekar claimed.