Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reiterated that there will be no change of guard in the state, adding that he has the blessings of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.After Ajit Pawar joined the BJP-led government in the state as deputy chief minister, there was speculation that Shinde would be replaced as CM and hence he along with his family members had met PM Modi in a farewell meeting.However, Shinde claimed that his work has been appreciated and there is no truth in the speculation. He said that his government works from the field, unlike the earlier government that used to work from home and via Facebook Live.
Shinde said Opposition members including former CM Prithviraj Chavan are giving date after date for his resignation. "I really wonder why Prithviraj Chavan is speaking like this. He is a good friend of mine. He is a good man. But now he stopped. He must have realised that the information he has is of no value, therefore he stopped speaking against me," Shinde said."Our government is a performing government. We are working 24x7, therefore Ajit Pawar and his faction's MLAs joined us. We have more than 170 MLAs in the 288-member House," Shinde said.Shinde also praised the work of PM Modi in his speech. He said whenever he travels, people who meet him speak highly of PM Modi. "We are working under the guidance of PM Narendra Modi. The Opposition is making wild allegations. There is no truth in it. Our work will speak. We do not give importance to allegations," Shinde added. In June 2022, Eknath Shinde rebelled against the then Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, leading to a split in Shiv Sena. Shinde's faction later joined hands with the BJP and formed the government.