Shiv Sena leaders meet at Matoshree to discuss future plans

A day after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took charge as the Maharashtra's 27th Chief Minister, Shiv Sena leaders met at party chief Uddhav Thackeray's Matoshree residence here on Saturday to decide on the party's future strategy.

Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gore after the meeting said that Uddhav Thackeray and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leadership will soon reveal the decisions that have been taken during their meetings.

"Some leaders and MLA's of Shiv Sena came to Matoshree today for an unofficial meeting. Any development that has taken place will be informed by Uddhav Thackeray and the leaders of the BJP soon," Gore told the media here.

When asked if the Shiv Sena has put any conditions to join the government in Maharashtra, she said, "I do not have anything more to say, just wait and watch."

Fadnavis was earlier on Friday sworn-in as Chief Minister of the first BJP government in Maharashtra at a grand ceremony in Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium. Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray's was also present during the ceremony amid signs of a rapprochement between the two parties.

There are reports suggesting that the Shiv Sena will reach out to BJP chief Amit Shah and senior leaders Lal Krishna Advani, Arun Jaitley and Rajnath Singh to work out an agreement over participating in Fadnavis-led government in Maharashtra. The Sena and the BJP had broken their 25-year-old alliance ahead of the Maharashtra polls over seat sharing disagreement.

The BJP, which emerged victorious in 122 seats, needs 23 more to win the vote in the assembly. The Sena finished second with 63 seats. Sharad Pawar-led NCP has complicated the matter by offering external support to the BJP and assured that it will abstain during the vote in a show of support for the minority government.