Maharashtra’s outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Union Home Minister Amit Shah here on Thursday night to thrash out a power-sharing pact in the state where the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance romped home to a landslide victory in the assembly elections.

Fadnavis, a former chief minister under whose leadership the BJP crossed the 100-seat mark for the third consecutive time in the 288-member state assembly, is considered the frontrunner for the top executive post in Maharashtra.

NCP chief and Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar said a decision on ministerial berths for the alliance partners — BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP — will be decided at the meeting with Shah on Thursday night.

Leaders of the alliance said a new government could be in place in Maharashtra latest by December 2.

The meeting between Fadnavis, Shah, Nadda, Pawar and Shinde lasted over one hour.

Posting pictures of the meeting on X, Fadnavis said, “Expressed my gratitude to Hon’ble Union Minister Amitbhai Shah for his huge support on the battlefield during the important Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha Elections 2024 and for the way he greatly inspired and motivated the karykartas.”