After an emphatic victory in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Mahayuti is preparing for its next battle – for the chief minister's post.
BJP is widely speculated to stake claim for the CM's chair after playing second fiddle for the past four years with Devendra Fadnavis as Deputy Chief Minister along with NCP chief Ajit Pawar. This was despite the BJP being the Mahayuti partner with the most number of seats.
#WATCH | Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, Deputy CMs Ajit Pawar, Devendra Fadnavis and other Mahayuti leaders at Varsha Bungalow, CM's official residence, in Mumbai
— ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2024
Mahayuti is set to form the government in Maharashtra.
(Source: BJP)
#MaharashtraElection2024 pic.twitter.com/wG5UdPMjEA
However, Shiv Sena supremo Eknath Shinde who has been sitting on the throne is not likely to give it up easily.
The new equation was evident when the Mahayuti partners met at the chief minister's official residence, Varsha, on Saturday. Both Shinde and Fadnavis sat on high-back chairs that were identical while Pawar sat on a smaller chair besides Shinde.
#WATCH | Nagpur: Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis says, "I went to Varsha Bungalow (Chief Minister's residence) in the afternoon and felicitated CM Eknath Shinde. The leaders of the three parties (BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP) will decide who will become the Chief Minister..." pic.twitter.com/gLazaRHxmR
— ANI (@ANI) November 23, 2024
In the recent elections, the BJP has clinched 132 constituencies, while Shiv Sena has bagged 57 seats and NCP has 41 in its kitty. This brings the total number of Mahayuti constituencies to 230 in the Maharashtra assembly, which has 288 seats.
The ruling coalition did not declare a chief ministerial candidate before the polls, reiterating that the name would be finalised after the results.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar celebrates the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance's lead amid the counting of votes for the Maharashtra Assembly elections, at CM's official residence 'Varsha' in Mumbai | PTI
Fadnavis on Saturday said the three alliance partners will meet and decide the new chief minister. Fadnavis added that the decision will be acceptable to all three parties and there will not be any dispute.
Fadnavis met Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari at his Nagpur residence on Saturday night ahead of the Mahayuti meeting on Sunday.
Responding to reports that Fadnavis will take over as CM, Shinde said no decision has been taken yet.
Shiv Sena MLA and spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat has backed Shinde as CM for another term while BJP leaders like Pravin Darekar and Kailash Vijayvargiya wants Fadnavis to return as CM.
Before the elections, NCP's Amol Mitkari said regardless of the election results, NCP will be the kingmaker.
Sources quoted by local reports suggest that Shiv Sena might have to give up the CM's post in exchange of more ministerials berths. In that case, Shiv Sena may also get the Home portfolio along with the deputy CM's post, earlier held by Fadnavis.
