Amid suspense over the formation of the new government in Maharashtra, NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Saturday asserted that the next chief minister of the state would be from the BJP. He said there would be two deputy chief ministers, one each from the NCP and the Shiv Sena.
"The state will have one chief minister from BJP and two deputies from the other two parties of the Mahayuti. Tentatively, the oath-taking ceremony will take place on December 5. We have decided to move ahead with a strong vision," Pawar said while talking to reporters in Thane.
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Ever since the Mahayuti alliance recorded a resounding victory in the recent assembly elections, speculations have been rife on who the next chief minister will be.
News agency PTI on Saturday quoted an unnamed BJP leader as saying that Devendra Fadnavis, who steered the BJP’s massive victory in the poll, is the front-runner for the CM post. There has been no official word on this yet.
Earlier, there were reports that outgoing chief minister Eknath Shinde was unhappy after he was denied a second term as CM though the Mahayuti faced the polls under his leadership. He, however, later cleared the air, saying he was ready to accept any decision the BJP leadership would take on the CM post.
Among the Mahayuti allies, the BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 122 seats, while the Shiv Sena and the NCP bagged 57 and 41 seats, respectively, in the 288-member house.
Earlier, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed that the new government will be sworn in on December 5. He said the swearing-in will be held at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The term of the current Maharashtra assembly ended on November 26. Asked about this, Pawar said, "This is not the first time there has been a delay... If you remember, in 1999, one month was taken for government formation."
