Pune, Aug 5 (IANS): Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah arrived in Pune for a visit to the state’s cultural and academic capital, here on Saturday.

He was accorded a warm welcome by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, and other officials and Bharatiya Janata Party leaders this evening.

On Sunday, he is scheduled to inaugurate the web-portal of the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, at the Ramakrishna Multipurpose Hall in the city.

Later, he is likely to attend a party meeting where senior leaders will brief him on the preparations for the upcoming parliament elections.

In Maharashtra, the BJP has set a target -- ‘Mission 45’ -- to bag 45 of the state’s 48 Lok Sabha seats.

Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis, state BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and others would meet and discuss the strategies for the polls.

The Pune Police have made strong security and traffic arrangements for Shah’s trip -- coming just four days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a trip on August 1 to receive the Lokmanya Tilak National Award.