Maharashtra Chief Minister Fadnavis is ecstatic after his historic win. However, what the country was waiting to hear was what transpired during the "silence period" of the Mahayuti when the state was plunged into uncertainty about who would be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Sources had said back then that Eknath Shinde was upset at being elbowed out of the CM's chair. Convincing him to give up the claim to the top post took 11 days.
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Devendra Fadnavis has finally revealed how he negotiated and convinced the caretaker CM and his ally in the Mahayuti, Eknath Shinde, to give up the claim to the CM's chair. "Eknath Shinde was not angry. I sat with Shindeji and told him that even I did not want to become the Chief Minister. I told him that when my party asked me to assume the CM's chair, I, too, felt that the strongest person with a valid claim should helm the government if we were to run the alliance. He [Eknath Shinde] immediately agreed. I have no problem working under you," Fadnavis said in an exclusive interview with ABP News.
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Who Will Get The Home Ministry?
Fadnavis sidestepped a question on the Home portfolio allocation, saying all three parties had received massive mandates and it was necessary to manage the aspirations of all leaders. According to Fadnavis, the Mahayuti will be ready to declare all portfolio allocations by December 16, before the BJP's Nagpur convention.
He said the Mahayuti had "almost" agreed upon the Cabinet-sharing formula, but the Home Ministry is yet to be decided on. He said all three parties of the Mahayuti will get equal respect during the ministerial berth allocation. He also said the delay in the allocation of ministries was due to the "problem of plenty". "We are very happy that we have a problem of plenty," he quipped.