Eknath Shinde Elected Shiv Sena Legislative Party Leader

This comes after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis has asserted that he would be the chief minister for the next five years and has rejected Shiv Sena's claim of 50-50 formula.

Eknath Shinde (PIC/FB account)

Mumbai (Maharashtra): In the backdrop of the tussle with the BJP over the CM's post, the Shiv Sena on Thursday elected Eknath Shinde as the leader of the legislature party in the state. Shinde has been given the post for the second time in a row. With his strong networking skills, Eknath Shinde is considered as the No. 2 leader in Shiv Sena after Uddhav Thackeray. He was the PWD minister in the previous BJP-Sena government.

As an elected MLA, it was my privilege to propose the name of @mieknathshinde ji as the leader of the @ShivSena Parliamentary Party for the working the legislature. @prabhu_suneel ji has been elected as chief whip of the party for the legislature. #महाराष्ट्र pic.twitter.com/ofMln0A7ku

— Aaditya Thackeray (@AUThackeray) October 31, 2019

Aaditya Thackeray had proposed Shinde’s name in a meeting with the newly-elected MLAs this afternoon. Meanwhile, Sunil Prabhu was elected as the chief whip in the party meeting.

The party has met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to "apprise" the Governor of the "situation". This comes after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis has asserted that he would be the chief minister for the next five years and has rejected Shiv Sena's claim of 50-50 formula. Reports say Shiv Sena is also now aware that it won't get the post of CM and will have to eventually come on the same page with the saffron party to form the government. Shiv Sena has won 56 seats against the BJP's 105. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has claimed that seven independents are supporting it.