Shah, Bhagwat meet in Mumbai, discuss 2019 elections

Mumbai, July 29: BJP president Amit Shah held a meeting with RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat in Mumbai in the backdrop of the ongoing agitation by the Maratha community seeking job reservation in Maharashtra.

The duo held talks at Yashwant Bhavan, the RSS office in Mumbai but what transpired between them was not known. However, a BJP source said Shah and Bhagwat discussed ways to strengthen the ruling party in the state, which will see both Lok Sabha and Assembly polls in 2019, but did not touch upon the quota issue.

He said the meeting was scheduled long back and it had nothing to do with the ongoing stir by Marathas demanding 16 percent reservation in government jobs and education.

"The meeting was decided months ago and it barely lasted for an hour. It was just a coincidence that it happened in the backdrop of an all-party meet called by the chief minister," the BJP source said.

Incidentally, an all-party meeting was also convened yesterday by the state government to discuss the quota issue. The BJP-led government has faced criticism over its handling of the state-wide agitation, which turned violent in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and parts of Marathwada this week.

Early this week, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had claimed that there were "talks within the BJP" to replace Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a claim denied by senior party ministers. There were no discussions within the BJP on replacing Fadnavis, the source said, adding that the CM was "adequately capable" of handling the ongoing protests.

Shah was on a day-long visit to the city yesterday, during which he met Bhagwat, who was also in Mumbai. As part of his visit, Shah also attended a special preview screening of "Chalo Jeete Hain", (Come, let's live), a film based on Modi's early life.

PTI