New Delhi: Weeks after Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra after toppling the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, his ally Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said that the party decided to back Shinde as CM with a “heavy heart” instead of giving the post to Devendra Fadnavis, reported news agency PTI.
The decision was taken to send the right message, he added.
The BJP, the largest single party in the Maharashtra Assembly, sprang a surprise on June 30 when it announced that Mr Shinde, who had split the Sena and toppled the Uddhav Thackeray government, should become the Chief Minister.
Speaking at a meeting of the state BJP’s executive committee at Panvel, near Mumbai, Patil said: "We needed to provide a leader who would convey the right message and ensure stability. The central leadership and Devendra-ji decided to back Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister with a heavy heart. We were unhappy but decided to accept the decision."
After the Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi government was toppled by 40 rebel MLAs of the Shiv Sena headed by Eknath Shinde, it was being expected that Devendra Fadnavis would become the Chief Minister.
But later Fadnavis announced that Shinde would lead the new government.
Former Chief Minister Fadnavis had also said that he would stay outside the government but hours later he was announced by BJP president JP Nadda that the former will take oath as the deputy Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, when asked about Mr Patil's comments, state BJP leader Ashish Shelar told reporters that it was not the party's or Mr Patil's own stand, but he was articulating the feelings of ordinary workers.