Leaders of two parties from the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra on Friday heaped praise on BJP leader and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, raising eyebrows amid indications of a post-poll churn in the key state.

Saamana, the daily mouthpiece of the Shiv Sena faction led by Udhhav Thackeray, lauded Fadnavis for promising to turn Maoist-hit Gadchiroli district into a "steel city".

Supriya Sule, the working president of the NCP faction led by her father Sharad Pawar, said Fadnavis deserved plaudits for his "good work" in the region.

The development came against the backdrop of calls for unity and the merger of the NCP factions.

In an editorial titled "Congratulations Deva bhau", Saamana said: "CM Devendra Fadnavis started work in the new year and for this he chose Gadchiroli…. The CM reached Gadchiroli and started a new era of development in that naxal-infested district…."

"If the current CM has decided to change the picture of Gadchiroli, we congratulate him," it added.

Later, the editor of the daily, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, endorsed the stand taken by his party's mouthpiece. "If a government has taken good steps, especially regarding the law and order situation, and is working towards social equality, then it deserves praise," Raut told reporters in Mumbai.

Eleven Maoists had surrendered before the chief minister on New Year's Day and Raut, known for his acerbic attacks on the BJP, hailed it as a moment for every "Marathi manoos to feel proud".

In the bitterly fought Assembly polls last month, the Mahayuti alliance led by the BJP had secured a landslide victory. The Opposition MVA, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar), had suffered a humiliating defeat.

The Sena (UBT) had accused the BJP, particularly Fadnavis, of splitting the erstwhile Shiv Sena. The NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar had also blamed the BJP for the split in his family and the party.

On Friday, however, Pawar's daughter Sule was all praise for Fadnavis. "Fadnavis has taken forward the legacy of the late NCP leader R.R. Patil to take responsibility for Naxal-affected districts and the good work should be praised. The situation is changing in Naxal-affected districts," Sule said in Pune.

Sule chose to sidestep questions over the call for unity in the Pawar family and a merger of the two NCP factions. "I don’t want to say anything as I don’t mix my professional and personal life. The Pawar family is as united as it has been. My relationship with my aunt has not changed," she said.

On New Year's Day, Sule's aunt and Ajit Pawar's mother Ashatai told reporters that she wanted a "reunion of Ajit and his uncle (Sharad)”.

The churn in Maharashtra politics is being seen as a preparation for the upcoming urban local body polls, including the cash-rich Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation. The Sena (UBT) appears to be eyeing a "friendly relation" with Fadnavis to avoid getting overrun by the rival Sena faction led by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.

Sources said the BJP was not averse to keeping the option of realignment with the Thackeray family open to keep Shinde in check, given his recent hard bargaining for ministerial portfolios.