GUWAHATI: Eknath Shinde, the chief minister of Maharashtra, is scheduled to visit Guwahati on Saturday to pay respects to Goddess Kamakhya and enlist her blessings.

A special flight will bring a 200-member delegation from Mumbai to Guwahati, source said. They said there was a good possibility that Devendra Fadnavis, the deputy chief minister, would be on the team.

The trip is being viewed as a "thanksgiving tour" in light of the Shinde-Fadnavis administration of Maharashtra's electoral victory. The team will also meet with Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam.

Shinde and his colleagues are expected to return to Mumbai on Sunday.

Eknath Shinde and dissident MLAs spent more than a week in Guwahati in June of this year just before ousting the Uddhav Thakre-led Shiv Sena group from power.

A total of 39 MLAs from the Shinde faction and as many as ten independent MLAs camped at a plush hotel in flood-hit Assam.

Before departing the state, the MLAs paid a visit to and offered prayers at the Kamakhya Temple.

The Thackeray camp, led by Aaditya Thackeray, however,  criticised the rebels harshly for camping in Guwahati, saying they were having fun while Assamese citizens were suffering from floods.

Shinde and the MLAs gave Rs 51 lakh to the state's flood victims before departing Guwahati.

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