Mahayuti allies go into huddle to pick Maha CM

Mumbai: After clinching a historic victory in Maharashtra, allies of the ruling coalition — BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP — got into a huddle to elect their respective leaders ahead of the selection of Chief Minister.

On Sunday, the BJP MLAs met state unit chief Chandrakant Bawankule. Later, addressing a press conference here, the Maharashtra BJP chief said leaders of the ruling Mahayuti alliance and the BJP leadership will decide who will be the next Chief Minister of the state.

Meanwhile, senior minister from Eknath Shinde government Deepak Kesarkar said the oath-taking ceremony is likely to be held on Tuesday. Sources said only the Chief Minister and those set to be his deputies are likely to take oath on Tuesday. No decision has been taken yet on who else will join the Cabinet, they added. While Shinde and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis are the top contenders for the Chief Minister's post, it's not yet known who among them will get the top post this time.

Asked about this, right after the seat tally indicated a second term for Mahayuti, both Shinde and Fadnavis said the allies will be consulted to pick the chief minister.

“There will be no dispute about who will be the Chief Minister... it was decided from day one that, after the election, the leaders of the three parties will sit together and decide this,” said Fadnavis.

Mahayuti swept 235 of the total 288 seats with the BJP emerging as the largest party with 132 seats. As the BJP emerged a senior partner in the NDA, the Opposition targeted Shinde saying he might have to work under Fadnavis.

The Chief Minister’s post had been a bone of contention for leaders in Maharashtra that had left the BJP in a political crisis in the past. It led to the united Shiv Sena to walk out of the NDA alliance after power tussle between Uddhav Thackeray and Fadnavis in 2019.

Thackeray, son of Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray who led the united party, confronted the BJP for an equal share of the top post. This met with denial and led to the collapse of the NDA alliance in Maharashtra. The Congress and united NCP, which was led by Sharad Pawar, used this opportunity to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, in which Thackeray was named the Chief Minister.