Ajit Pawar confirms Chief Minister post to remain with BJP, two deputy CMs will elected from allies

Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 — Image Source : PTI (FILE IMAGE) NCP chief Ajit Pawar

As the ongoing power tussle within the Mahayuti continues to raise eyebrows, NCP chief Ajit Pawar on Saturday (November 30) stated that the coalition has decided on the claim for Maharashtra's Chief Minister post, which is set to go to the BJP, while the two deputy positions will remain with the allied parties.

Maharashtra will have the Chief Minister from BJP

Speaking to the media in Pune, where he had gone to meet 95-year-old social activist Dr. Baba Adhav, who was protesting against the alleged misuse of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly polls, Pawar stated that the coalition has decided to move ahead with a strong vision.

"The state will have one chief minister from the BJP and two deputies from the other two parties of Mahayuti. Tentatively, the oath-taking ceremony will take place on December 5. We have decided to move ahead with a strong vision," Pawar stated.

Power tussle continues in Maharashtra

It is pertinent to note that despite the thumping victory for Mahayuti (which comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party) in the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly elections, the coalition has failed to reach a consensus on a final agreement regarding portfolio allocations in the next cabinet in Maharashtra.

While the Mahayuti parties had continued to raise their claims over the Chief Minister's post, in a significant turn of events, the Shiv Sena, led by the Shinde faction, today officially demanded the Home Ministry portfolio for the party in the new Cabinet. Terming it as Shinde’s demand, the party stated that there was nothing wrong with this request. However, official confirmation on whether the BJP has agreed to the same is still awaited. It is pertinent to note that in the last Maharashtra Cabinet, the BJP had kept the state Home Ministry to itself, despite giving the Chief Minister’s post to Eknath Shinde, who had rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray and moved out of the party with at least half of its MLAs.

Oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti Government in Maharashtra

Meanwhile, as the Mahayuti is yet to make an official announcement regarding the Chief Minister's face for the new Maharashtra Cabinet, BJP's state party chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday announced that the swearing-in ceremony of the new cabinet will be held on December 5, 2024, at Mumbai's Azad Maidan.

He stated that the ceremony will be held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 5 PM at Azad Maidan, Mumbai.