Maharashtra: End to impasse in sight as BJP sets swearing-in date, prepares to name CM

Taking the first step to choose its legislative party leader and hold the meeting of all the newly-elected MLAs, the central leadership of the BJP has appointed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani as central observers of the meeting.

Swearing in on Dec 5; PM likely to attend

Senior leaders of the BJP said that the meeting of the legislative party is expected to take place on December 3 or December 4 and the swearing-in ceremony is slated for December 5. While all members of the ruling National Democratic Alliance (NDA) will attend the swearing-in event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to drop by.

Also read: Maharashtra CM's name to be declared on eve of Mahayuti govt's swearing-in on Dec 4

“The BJP leadership has asked all its MLAs to reach Mumbai and the legislative party meeting is expected to take place on December 3-4. It is now clear that the name of the new chief minister and leader of the BJP will be announced. The two observers are expected to hold meeting with all MLAs and also meet all the senior leaders of the BJP in Maharashtra to build a consensus on the name of the next legislative party leader,” a senior BJP leader from Mumbai told The Federal.

Fadnavis has the dibs

While Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remains the frontrunner for the top post, the BJP leadership expects him to collaborate with Shiv Sena chief and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP chief and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Even though Shinde has agreed to the idea of the BJP leading the NDA government in Maharashtra, senior leaders of his faction of Shiv Sena have demanded crucial ministerial portfolios like home and urban development departments.

Tussle over portfolios

While it took the BJP leadership 10 days to finally convince Shinde to relinquish his claims over the chief minister’s chair, the party doesn’t want to allot the home department to Sena even though it is ready to part with finance.

It has also been decided that like earlier, there will be two deputy chief ministers, one each from Shiv Sena and the NCP.

Will Shinde join govt?

Even though the BJP leadership wants Shinde to join the government, the final call has been left to him.

“The breakthrough happened after Fadnavis reached out to Shinde after he returned to Mumbai on Sunday. The two leaders have agreed to solve the issues amicably. It was always clear that the post of chief minister would be with the BJP, it was only a matter of time that Shiv Sena also accepted the decision. The BJP enjoys the support of NCP and all smaller parties for the post. It was only the Shiv Sena that had some reservations. All issues have been resolved and discussion over the distribution of portfolios will continue,” a senior BJP leader from Mumbai told The Federal.

Also read: Who is Shrikant Shinde, who may be Maharashtra's next Deputy CM

Why Shinde had to yield

While the BJP leadership tried hard to convince Shinde to amicably make way for a chief minister from the saffron party, the Shiv Sena leader also found himself cornered after all other NDA partners unanimously decided to support the BJP’s decision.

The leaders of smaller parties were the first to support the BJP in the decision but the real problem for Shinde started after NCP chief Ajit Pawar also announced his decision to support the BJP.

“The NCP was among the first parties in NDA to announce the decision to support BJP for the post of chief minister. It is obvious that since BJP has the largest number of MLAs, the post of chief minister should go to it. We are confident that the swearing-in ceremony will take place on December 5. The finer details of the government formation will be decided by three top leaders of NDA,” Nitin Laxmanrao Jadhav Patil, senior leader of NCP and MP told The Federal.

Local body polls, the next challenge

Even though the BJP-led NDA seems to be finally on track to form the government after winning a huge mandate in Maharashtra, the struggle for supremacy is not over yet – it must consolidate its power in the Mumbai local body polls if it has to fully triumph over INDIA bloc.

Soon after completion of the state polls, the NDA has already started preparing for the crucial local body elections in Maharashtra, especially the polls in Mumbai.

Also read: Sulking Shinde, stubborn BJP: Maharashtra deadlock deepens

Senior leaders of the NDA are of the view that INDIA bloc did well in the Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, but the NDA has retained power with an emphatic win in the state.

“The local body elections will be the key contest in Maharashtra and the elections in Mumbai will determine the supremacy of the NDA and INDIA bloc. The discussions on government formation in NDA will continue but it is clear that Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar will have to work together to ensure that the majority they have got in the Assembly elections remains with the NDA. It is important for the NDA leaders to resolve their differences and work together for the upcoming electoral challenge,” Dilip Deodhar, Nagpur-based author and observer on RSS, told The Federal.