Mumbai, Oct 22 (IT) : Even as Union Minister Nitin Gadkari flexed his muscles by meeting nearly 40 newly-elected BJP MLAs in Nagpur on Tuesday, highly-placed sources in the party on Wednesday told India Today that Devendra Fadnavis remains the front-runner for the chief minister's post.

Calling Gadkari's meeting with the MLAs as only a "sideshow", the sources said the party is not going to change a decision it made after it emerged as the single largest party with 123 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

Although Gadkari has officially denied any chief ministerial ambitions, his meeting with the BJP MLAs was being seen as the former BJP president throwing his hat into the Maharashtra ring.

Both Fadnavis and Gadkari are from Nagpur and both enjoy the confidence of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Fadnavis emerged as the frontrunner for the chief minister's post after overcoming possible challenges from other party veterans like Eknath Khadse and Vinod Tawde. But now he may have to deal with Gadkari's potential challenge as well.

On Tuesday, Gadkari met Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley at the latter's residence in Delhi. They reportedly discussed the choices available for government formation in Maharashtra. After the meeting, Gadkari left for Nagpur to hold discussions with RSS top brass on possible options.

Is the Shiv Sena joining BJP government in Maharashtra?

The BJP sources said getting its former ally Shiv Sena on board was a bigger priority for the party. The party is trying to significantly scale down Uddhav Thackeray's expectations as he faces tremendous pressure from within his party to join the BJP government.

The BJP negotiators, sources said, have been asked to remain polite but firm in their deliberations with their partner of 25 years, who parted ways just before Maharashtra voted on October 15, making the Assembly elections a four-cornered contest.

In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, BJP has won 122 seats, 23 short of a majority. Sena, which has emerged as the second largest party, bagged 63 seats. NCP has 41 in its kitty.

The sources also said that if the BJP fails to get Sena on board, it is willing to run a minority government with outside support from Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party and independent candidates. The NCP support to the BJP, which experts have called a master-stroke, has killed Thackeray's bargaining powers with the BJP.

On its part, the Shiv Sena has deputed two senior leaders for discussions with the BJP leadership. Rajya Sabha member Anil Desai and senior Sena leader Subhash Desai arrived in Delhi on Tuesday for discussions with top BJP leaders.

Will the BJP run a minority government in Maharashtra?

Observers say that in case the Sena's support is not sought, the BJP may still form the government and prove its majority on the floor of the House, with NCP abstaining. This option will help the party to maintain its dignity as it will not have to seek the support of NCP. Several NCP leaders are facing corruption charges and BJP will not like to be embarrassed by counting on NCP support.

Meanwhile, the proposed meeting of the newly-elected BJP MLAs in Mumbai to elect their leader in the Assembly has been postponed as Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who was appointed as an observer, decided to travel to Maharashtra capital later. "I am not going now. I think I will visit Mumbai after Diwali," Singh told reporters in Delhi.