Mumbai, January 4: In what could be possible a major setback for the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena legislator Abdul Sattar has reportedly resigned as Minister of State. According to reports, Abdul Sattar was unhappy as he was not made a Cabinet Minister. Sattar, who represents Sillod assembly constituency, is considered close to former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis. Maharashtra Cabinet Portfolio Allocation: Ajit Pawar Likely to Get Finance, Shiv Sena Keen to Keep Home; Check Full List of Possible Allocations.

Sattar quit the Congress and joined the Shiv Sena ahead of assembly elections in September last year. He has not resigned as an MLA but only as Minister of State. According to reports, Sattar submitted his resignation to Cabinet Minister and Shiv Sena leader Anil Desai. Speaking to a news portal, Desai, however, denied reports that he recieved resignation letter from Sattar. There has been no official announcement from Sattar as well about his resignation. Maharashtra Government Expansion: Ajit Pawar, Aaditya Thackeray, Ashok Chavan And 33 Others Take Ministerial Oath at Vidhan Bhavan; Check Full List. 

"This is not correct. He has not resigned, nor submitted any such resignation letter to me or anybody else in the party," Desai told IANS. Sattar's son Samir Nabi in Aurangabad also denied the news and said he was trying to reach his father for more details. Sattar, sole Muslim face of the Shiv Sena, was sworn-in as an MoS when Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray expanded his cabinet on December 30.

Since the past week, senior leaders of the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising of the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress are engaged in finalizing the cabinet portfolios. The Congress is also facing internal differences with some senior leaders saying that they have been ignored in the cabinet expansion. After the expansion, the total strength of the ministry goes up to 43, including CM Thackeray and his deputy Ajit Pawar.

Last year, on November 28, Thackeray took the oath along with six other ministers -- Eknath Shinde, Subhash Desai (both Sena), Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP), Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut (Congress).

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 04, 2020 12:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).