As speculations are rife on who will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra, leaders of the Mahayuti alliance will meet the BJP top brass in Delhi on Thursday. The meeting comes a day after outgoing chief minister Eknath Shinde made it clear that the Shiv Sena will support any decision of the BJP leadership on the CM post.
According to reports, the BJP is tipped to get the chief ministerial post while its two allies—Shiv Sena and NCP—are likely to get the deputy CM posts.
The Mahayuti had followed a similar formula in the outgoing government, where BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and NCP leader Ajit Pawar were the deputy CMs. Given the impressive performance of the BJP in the assembly elections—BJP alone bagged 132 seats in the 288-member assembly—Fadnavis is most likely to be appointed as the chief minister.
Fadnavis held the top post from 2014 to 2019 but later chose to play a second fiddle to Shinde after the Shiv Sena suffered a vertical split and the Shinde-led faction joined hands with the ruling alliance.
There were reports that Shinde was disappointed for not getting a second term as CM despite the Mahayuti alliance winning a thumping victory under his leadership. The Sena leader, however, cleared the air on Monday, saying he would support any decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
“I called PM Modi yesterday and also Amit Shah and told them to decide (on who will be the CM post), and assured them that I will abide by whatever decision they take,” Shinde said, addressing a press conference at his residence in Thane.
It is not yet clear whether Shinde would be ready to swap his position with Fadnavis or recommend somebody else from his party to the deputy CM post. Tomorrow’s meeting between the Mahayuti leaders and the BJP leadership is expected to give a concrete shape to the new government.