The question of who the next Maharashtra Chief Minister will be has been on everybody's minds ever since the results for the Maharashtra Assembly elections were announced last Saturday on November 23.
Despite the thumping victory, the Mahayuti alliance has not made the announcement about its next Chief Minister candidate, adding to the suspense. However, it is expected that the alliance, which comprises of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party, might announce their pick soon.
This comes as Maharashtra's caretaker CM Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar met the Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday night. The meeting is currently underway at Amit Shah's residence where BJP national president JP Nadda is also present.
Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis had arrived together in a car at NCP MP Sunil Tatkare's residence, where a meeting was held for over an hour. Following this meeting, the two leaders reached Amit Shah's residence where Shinde was already present for nearly 20 minutes. It is being said the meeting will go on for almost 1-2 hours.
The meeting is significant as it has happened after the alliance hit a deadlock and is being seen a crucial exercise which could end up in the decision on the next CM, expected to be announced soon.
The saffron party has maintained silence over the matter, while Shiv Sena leaders had voiced their opinion and demanded that Shinde be made the CM again. However, Shinde dropped a big hint on Wednesday during a presser where he said that he has no issues with whoever is chosen the next CM and that he stands with PM Modi and the BJP on its decision regarding the coveted position. Shinde had also said that his party leaders and workers will continue to back the BJP and the alliance as he thanked PM Modi and Amit Shah for their support.
A close aide of Shinde said on Thursday that the caretaker CM is unlikely to accept the post of deputy CM in the new dispensation, PTI reported.
Shiv Sena MLA and spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said Eknath Shinde would be a part of the cabinet. "He is unlikely to be a deputy chief minister. It does not befit a person who has already served as chief minister," Shirsat told PTI.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won the state assembly elections by securing 230 seats in the 288-member House. The BJP, recovering from its Lok Sabha polls setback, bagged 132 seats, while Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP won 57 while NCP won 41 seats, respectively.
MVA suffered a crushing defeat with Congress winning merely 16 seats, NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, and Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.