Maharashtra: As Shinde steps aside, Fadnavis likely to lead govt

After four days of negotiations between the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, it is now clear that the national party is all set to lead the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in the state after a gap of five years.

The breakthrough came after outgoing chief minister Eknath Shinde spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and is expected to reach Delhi on Thursday (November 28) along with Ajit Pawar, chief of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Devendra Fadnavis, the former chief minister of Maharashtra.

The meeting between the NDA leaders from Maharashtra and the central leadership of the BJP will be the first since the announcement of the election results on November 23 when the BJP-led NDA won more than 230 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.

Also read: Shinde ‘leaves it to Modi’ to pick Maharashtra CM, won’t be a ‘roadblock’ in govt formation

Sena faces task of picking DyCM

“Eknath Shinde’s announcement that the final decision will be taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi clearly means that now the BJP can appoint a leader its choice as the new chief minister of Maharashtra,” a senior BJP leader from Mumbai told The Federal.

“Shinde’s decision to step aside from the race for chief minister is justified because the BJP has 133 legislators on its side, and four more MLAs of smaller alliance partners have supported the party. Even Ajit Pawar is of the opinion that the chief minister should be from the BJP, so now, with the acceptance by the Shiv Sena, the road is clear for the BJP’s central leadership to appoint the new chief minister,” the leader added.

Although the road is clear for the BJP to choose the next chief minister, there are likely to be two deputy chief ministers, and it is now for the Shiv Sena and NCP leadership to choose the names of the deputy chief ministers who will represent their respective parties in the Maharashtra government.

Also read: Fadnavis gets Ramdas Athawale's backing for Maharashtra CM's post

Ajit Pawar likely to remain DyCM

Soon after the assembly election results were declared on November 23, the Shiv Sena demanded that Shinde should continue as the chief minister because the state elections were contested under his leadership. However, the mammoth majority given by the people of Maharashtra to the BJP ensured that the saffron party had the support of most of the NDA legislators — except the Shiv Sena — to lead the government.

“The contours of government formation and the name of the chief minister will be clear when all NDA leaders from Maharashtra reach Delhi to meet the BJP central leaders. The final decision will be taken on Friday when the meeting takes place, but Ajit Pawar will remain a deputy chief minister because he has been chosen as the leader of NCP in the government,” Nitin Laxmanrao Jadhav Patil, senior NCP leader and Rajya Sabha member, told The Federal.

Also watch: Shinde-Fadnavis: Despite big win, simmering discontent in Mahayuti camp

Fadnavis ahead in race within BJP

Shinde’s decision to step aside from the race may have cleared the road for the BJP, but it is for its central leadership to decide on the name of the next chief minister.

While former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is the obvious choice as he is the tallest leader of the party in Maharashtra, some of the other leaders in the race are Sudhir Mungantiwar, minister for forest and cultural affairs, and Chandrakant Patil, minister of higher and technical education.

“Devendra Fadnavis is the obvious choice. The BJP contested the elections under his leadership and he is the most senior leader of the party in Maharashtra. It seems he will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra,” Dilip Deodhar, Nagpur-based author and observer on RSS, told The Federal.