No deal in Maharashtra but Shiv Sena welcomes Narendra Modi's Cabinet expansion

Mumbai: A day after announcing its decision to sit in opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly, Shiv Sena on Tuesday hailed Narendra Modi-led NDA government's expansion-cum-reshuffle.

The Cabinet expansion has been done keeping in mind poll arithmetic and the future of the BJP, said Shiv Sena in their fresh editorial published in `Saamana`.

Hours after the editorial, Shiv Sena named Vijay Avti as its choice for the Speaker's post in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. 

In a dramatic turnaround, the Shiv Sena had on Sunday abstained from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Cabinet expansion, asking its nominee Anil Y Desai to return to Mumbai. However, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray had indicated that Anant Geete, party's representative in the Modi government, will continue for the time being.

The BJP minority government in Maharashtra headed by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will seek a vote of confidence tomorrow.

However, there is no immediate danger to the survival of the Fadnavis ministry as the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with its 41 members said it will extend "unconditional external support" to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in case of voting in the interests of political stability.

The BJP and Shiv Sena snapped off ties on September 25 and both parties fought the elections separately.