Devendra Fadnavis to replace Eknath Shinde as next Maharashtra CM, claims senior BJP leader
More than a week after the Mahayuti clinched a massive victory in Maharashtra polls with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 132 seats, the new government is yet to be sworn in.
Ahead of a key legislature party meeting, a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said that the name of party leader Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. Speaking to the news agency PTI, he said Fadnavis will be formally elected as the legislature party leader in a meeting to be held either on December 2 or 3.
Earlier in the day, acting Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde reiterated that he would support the BJP's pick for the chief minister.
Suspense over Eknath's role in next govt continues
Shidhe, who was reportedly upset over not being given the home ministry, held a press conference at his native villata in Satara and clarified that he is not disappointed over anything and will support to BJP chief minister. However, he did not give any hint about his next role in the Mahayuti government.
Amid speculation that his son Shrikant Shinde might get the deputy CM's post and Shiv Sena is keen on the Home portfolio, Shinde said the Mahayuti allies- BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena- will decide the government formation through consensus after sitting together.
Oath-taking ceremony on December 5
The oath-taking ceremony of the new Mahayuti government is scheduled for December 5 evening at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend it.
The BJP is moving cautiously as aspirations of its allies, especially Shiv Sena, grew after the massive poll victory. Despite Shinde's insistence on Mahayuti unity, some leaders of allies spoke in different voices.
Former Union minister and BJP leader Raosaheb Danve said if the undivided Sena and BJP had contested the elections together, they would have won more seats. Separately, Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil claimed that the Eknath Shinde-led party would have won 90-100 seats in polls had Ajit Pawar's NCP not been part of the alliance, drawing a sharp reaction from the Ajit Pawar-led party.
NCP, Shiv Sena elected their legislature party leader
The BJP legislature party meeting to elect the leader, who will be the party's chief ministerial pick, is yet to be held even though Shiv Sena and NCP have elected Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as their legislature party leaders, respectively.
A senior Mahayuti leader said the allies will jointly decide whether only the chief minister and deputy CMs will take oath on December 5 or ministers will also be sworn in.
Shinde had left for his native village in Satara district on Friday amid speculation that he was not happy with the way the new government was shaping up. He developed a high fever in his village.
Talking to reporters in his village on Sunday before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said, "I have already said the decision on CM's post taken by the BJP leadership will be acceptable to me and Shiv Sena and will have my full backing".
On speculation that Shrikant Shinde will be made a Deputy CM in the new government and whether Shiv Sena has staked the claim for the home portfolio, Shinde replied, "Talks were on". "A meeting took place in Delhi last week with (Union home minister) Amit Shah, and now we three alliance partners will discuss the nitty-gritty of government formation after sitting together," he said.
Responding to a query on his health, the Shiv Sena leader said he was fine now and had come to his native village to get some rest. "There are no ifs and buts. My health is fine now. The work of our government will be written in golden words in the history,'' he said.
Shinde landed in Thane on the late Sunday afternoon. Though the oath-taking ceremony of the new government just four days away, there seems no clarity on the schedule of the much-awaited BJP legislature party meeting. A BJP leader claimed the party's MLAs have not been informed yet regarding the timing of the legislature party meeting. A day earlier, BJP leaders confirmed that the meeting will be held on December 2.
Differences among Mahayuti allies, meanwhile, came out in the open on Sunday. "Had Shiv Sena not split into two, and contested assembly elections with the BJP, our victory would have been bigger than what we achieved today. We had also won comfortably in the 2019 assembly elections," Raosaheb Danve said.
The Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The BJP led with 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena got 57 and NCP 41.