Who will be Maharashtra CM? Tussle on, but Fadnavis leads the race

Before the start of the Maharashtra elections, the three members of the Mahayuti decided to contest the elections without naming a chief ministerial candidate. It was decided that a chief minister will be chosen by the newly-elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of the three parties. The NDA scripted a historic victory by winning 235 seats out of the total 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra,

Also watch: Fadnavis or Shinde? Here's who Ajit Pawar is backing to be Maharashtra CM

Caretaker CM? 

The Shiv Sena, however, would like to see Shinde back as the CM.

Shrirang Barne, senior leader of Shiv Sena and Lok Sabha member, told The Federal, “Discussions are going on between leaders of the three parties and it will take a couple of days before the leaders decide. The Shiv Sena is hopeful that both BJP and NCP will agree that chief minister Eknath Shinde should continue as the leader of Mahayuti in the state.”

Further, he pointed out, “The elections were contested under the leadership of Eknath Shinde and he was the face of NDA in the campaign so it is obvious that Shiv Sena members want the existing formula to continue because it has worked well for the NDA."

Also, Barne revealed that the three parties will speak to their own MLAs first and then BJP leaders, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will meet to finalise the name of the next chief minister. Shinde is expected to meet the Governor tomorrow (November 26) and submit his resignation from the top post.

The NDA leadership’s problem, however, is that the previous Maharashtra assembly’s term is all set to end on November 26 and a new assembly must take oath by Tuesday.

“These discussions take time and if need be Eknath Shinde will continue as the caretaker chief minister till a final decision is taken on who will be the next chief minister. The chief minister is expected to meet the governor on Tuesday,” Barne added.

Also read: Maharashtra swearing-in likely on Monday, 'no dispute' over CM's post

Fadnavis as CM

Meanwhile, the BJP leadership is keen on Fadnavis returning as Maharashtra chief minister after a gap of five years. This possibility is gaining strength because Ajit Pawar has also agreed to Fadnavis being anointed as the next CM of the state.

The three NDA leaders, Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, are likely to reach Delhi to hold further consultations with BJP senior leaders before making the announcement.

A senior BJP leader from Mumbai told The Federal, “Devendra Fadnavis is the leader of BJP in Maharashtra and it is only natural he should become the chief minister given the mandate of the people to BJP and NDA. The people have given NDA the mandate to form the government and BJP is the single largest party in the state. It is obvious within NDA that the chief minister should be from the BJP. These consultations take time but we are confident the CM will be from the BJP this time.”

Also read: Maharashtra polls: Shinde, Fadnavis or Gadkari? BJP's tough task to pick next CM

RSS backs Fadnavis

It is not just the BJP members who want Devendra Fadnavis to return as CM but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is also backing the leader from Nagpur.

“The RSS leadership has cleared the name of Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister. There is support for him to become the leader of the NDA in Maharashtra. There is also a possibility that both Devendra Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde will share the five-year tenure equally for two-and-a-half-years each,” Dilip Deodhar, Nagpur-based author and RSS observer, told The Federal.

Deodhar further pointed out that the BJP’s central leadership has to also decide on the next party president, who will have to be elected by January 2025.