Prez poll: BJP leaders attend core committee meeting at Fadnavis' residence

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Monday night were seen leaving the residence of party leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after attending the party core committee meeting.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal and CT Ravi were also present during the meeting.

Maharashtra BJP leader Girish Mahajan said, "The meeting was regarding the Presidential poll as NDA's presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu will come here on July 14... No talks happened on cabinet expansion."

Earlier on Thursday, Shinde took oath as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Along with him, Devendra Fadnavis also took an oath as deputy chief minister of the state. Both the leaders were administered the oath of service by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. However, no other cabinet member took oath on that day.

Meanwhile, Shinde on Thursday won the crucial floor test in the state Assembly on the last day of the two-day special session of the House. In the 288-member House, 164 MLAs voted for the motion of confidence, while 99 voted against it. Three legislators abstained from voting, while 21 legislators, including Congress's Ashok Chavan and Vijay Wadettiwar, were absent.

National Democratic Alliance's (NDA) presidential candidate Droupadi and joint opposition nominee Yashwant Sinha are the only two contesting candidates for election to the Office of the President after the last date for the withdrawal of candidature ended on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded the candidature of the NDA presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu and called it historic on the second day of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) national executive meeting in Hyderabad.