No Meeting With PM Modi, Sena Leader Recalled by Uddhav Thackeray: Sources

Mumbai: Shiv Sena's Anant Geete, who was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi to discuss the widening rift with BJP, has been recalled to Mumbai by Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, sources say.

The recalling of Mr Geete, the only representative of the party in the Union cabinet, could be an indication that not all is well between the two former partners.

Sources in the BJP had earlier said that the party would soon sort out issues with the Shiv Sena.

Amidst the rift, the Sena has been threatening to sit in the Opposition if the BJP did not give it 'fair' and 'respectable' representation in the Maharashtra government.

The Sena won 63 seats in the recently held Assembly polls while the BJP won 123 seats in the 288-member assembly. The two parties had ended their 25-year-old alliance just before the Assembly election last month and the BJP fell short of the majority by 25-odd seats.

Top Shiv Sena sources earlier told NDTV that the party will meet on Sunday and take a final decision. The party is worried that if it joins the government without its 'fair share', it would lose out on the Leader of Opposition post as well.

"Talks are on between the Shiv Sena and BJP. This is not a question of demand and supply. It is a question of fair representation," Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut told NDTV.

Sources also told NDTV that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis spoke to Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on the telephone after reports of a meeting between NCP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and Mr Thackeray.

Mr Raut, however, dismissed the reports as pure gossip and denied any such meeting took place.

Meanwhile, sources said that Shiv Sena leader Anil Desai's name has been confirmed as the party's choice for the proposed Union Cabinet expansion tomorrow in New Delhi. But the party is not sending the name yet as it wants the BJP to first give it a formula for power-sharing at the state level.