A decision on the next Maharashtra Chief Minister will be taken during a meeting of the BJP legislative party tomorrow, Shiv Sena chief and caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said today. "This government is the people's government. I have clarified my role. The honourable Prime Minister and the honourable Home Minister will take the final decision on (Chief Minister). They (BJP MLAs) are meeting tomorrow. It will be decided. Dont' worry," he told the media.
Mr Shinde travelled to his native village in Satara on Friday. The trip had sparked a buzz that the outgoing Chief Minister was not happy with the BJP's decision to claim the top post after Mahayuti's sweeping polls victory. Mr Shinde, however, said he was tired after the election campaign and had come to Satara for rest.
"I always come to my village. Why should there be any confusion when I have already made my stand clear last week? I have already said the decision on CM's post taken by the BJP leadership will be acceptable to me and Shiv Sena and will have my full backing," he said.
While the Sena chief was in Satara, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekar Bawankule announced that the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mahayuti government will take place in south Mumbai's Azad Maidan on Thursday. The BJP is yet to announce its Chief Minister pick. Devendra Fadnavis, the state's tallest BJP leader and a former Chief Minister, is being seen as a frontrunner.
In this Assembly election, the results of which were declared last week, the Mahayuti scored a thumping win, scoring 230 seats in the 288-member Assembly. The Opposition bloc Maha Vikas Aghadi managed to win just 46 seats, months after its good show in the Lok Sabha polls in the state.
The BJP, which has won 132 seats, has decided to claim the Chief Minister post. After days of political posturing by a section of Sena leaders, Mr Shinde cleared the air and said he would not be an "obstacle" and would accept the BJP leadership's decision on the next Chief Minister. The Sena chief's announcement must be seen against the backdrop of the BJP's strong score in this election. The BJP now needs only one of its allies to reach the majority mark in Assembly and Ajit Pawar's NCP has backed it in the Chief Minister's tussle, leaving Mr Shinde with little leverage.
The delay in announcing the Chief Minister pick has, meanwhile, drawn criticism from the Opposition. Aaditya Thackeray, MLA and leader of Sena (UBT), has said the inability to choose a Chief Minister a week after result day was an "insult" to Maharashtra. He has also said that announcing the swearing-in date without even staking claim to form the government is "pure anarchy". Maharashtra, he has said, "seems like no priority" for BJP-led alliance. Mr Thackeray has also said that if the Opposition parties had ended up on the winning side, President Rule would have been imposed in the state by now.
The Sena (UBT) leader also doubled down on his party's allegations of EVM tampering and termed the poll results "mandate of the ECI".
"To not be able to decide on a chief minister, and form government, for more than a week after result day, is not just an insult to Maharashtra (for taking our state so lightly) but also to the assistance provided by their dearest Election Commission. It seems that rules only apply to the opposition parties, while rules don't for some special ones. To declare the swearing in date, unilaterally, without even staking claim to form government and show numbers to the Hon'ble Governor, is pure anarchy," he said in a post on X.
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