Shah asked Shinde to merge with BJP: Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut created a flutter in political circles on Sunday by claiming that Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde had met union home minister Amit Shah on Feb 22 in Pune at 4am to complain against CM Devendra Fadnavis, and that Shah had asked Shinde to merge his party with the BJP to keep his claim on the CM's post intact.

- Saurabha Kulshreshtha

MUMBAI:

Raut's assertions in his weekly column Rokhthok in Saamna have sparked speculation about the future politics of Shinde and the internal equations of the BJP's national leaders with the state leadership. Fadnavis and his deputies Shinde and Ajit Pawar, on their part, have called Raut's claims "laughable".

Due to the ongoing cold war between Fadnavis and Shinde and the series of decisions by Fadnavis to corner Shinde, there is unrest in the Shinde camp. It was against this backdrop that Raut on Sunday claimed that Shinde had met Amit Shah to complain about Fadnavis and to check the possibility of his becoming CM again.