The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday appointed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as central observers for the selection of the Maharashtra BJP Legislature Party leader. The BJP Parliamentary Board made the announcement in a press statement, stating, "The BJP Parliamentary Board has appointed Shri Vijay Rupani, former Chief Minister of Gujarat and Punjab in-charge, and Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman as central observers for the election of the leader of the BJP Legislature Party in Maharashtra."
The BJP Legislature Party meeting is scheduled to take place at 10 am on December 4 at Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan, news agency ANI reported. Party observers are expected to reach Mumbai by Tuesday evening to oversee the process.
Maharashtra Govt Formation: Devendra Fadnavis Dials Eknath Shinde To Enquire About His Health
Adding to the suspense, Maharashtra’s caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who has been ill, returned to Mumbai on Monday morning after recovering from a high fever in Satara but has cancelled all appointments following doctors’ advice to rest. News18 reported that Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis enquired about Shinde’s health over the phone.
This comes after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis, seen as the frontrunner for the Maharashtra Chief Minister post, called Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde on Sunday to find out about his health as he was in his native village in Satara.
Maharashtra Govt Formation: Eknath Shinde's Son Denies Vying For Deputy CM Post
In a related development, Shiv Sena MP and caretaker CM Eknath Shinde's son Shrikant Shinde refuted rumours about him becoming the Deputy Chief Minister in the new government. Posting on X (formerly Twitter), Shinde dismissed the claims, stating, “The swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government has been slightly delayed, leading to the flourishing of discussions and rumours. Caretaker Chief Minister Hon. Shri Eknath Shinde took a two-day rest in his hometown due to health reasons, which further fuelled these rumours. Over the past two days, reports speculating that I will become the Deputy Chief Minister have been circulating. In reality, there is no truth to this, and all news about my becoming the Deputy Chief Minister is baseless and unfounded.”
"Even after the Lok Sabha elections, I had the opportunity to take up a ministerial position in the Central Government. However, considering the need to work for the party organisation, I declined the ministerial position at that time. I have no desire for any position of power. Once again, I want to clarify that I am not in the race for any ministerial position in the state government. My focus remains on working diligently for my Lok Sabha constituency and the Shiv Sena party," he added.
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Maharashtra Govt Formation: Amit Shah Seeks Performance Reports To Allocate Ministries
Meanwhile, discussions within the Mahayuti on ministerial portfolios continue to intensify. According to ABP News, Union Home Minister Amit Shah has sought performance reports from legislators interested in joining the Cabinet. The evaluations reportedly consider their contributions during Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, their efficiency as ministers during the Eknath Shinde-led government, and their allocation of central and state funds. These reports aim to ensure that ministerial aspirants have maintained positive relations with alliance partners and avoided controversial remarks.
Leaders of the Mahayuti alliance are expected to travel to Delhi today for further deliberations.
The Mahayuti alliance, which secured 230 of 288 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, is yet to finalise its Chief Ministerial candidate. The BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, with 57 seats, and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with 41 seats.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a significant setback in the polls. Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) secured 20 seats, Congress won 16, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SP) managed just 10 seats.