Eknath Shinde Assures Support To BJP, Says Will Abide By PM Modi's Decision On Next Maharashtra CM

The Mahayuti alliance, which retained power with a brute mandate in Maharashtra, is yet to finalise on their chief ministerial pick. Amid the speculations, Eknath Shinde, who is presently the state's caretaker chief minister, said he is fully supporting the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Shinde, in a press briefing on Wednesday, said he will abide by the decision that Prime Minister Narendra Modi takes on the the next Maharashtra chief minister.

"I have told the Prime Minister that whatever decision you take, that decision is acceptable to me. You are the head of our family. The way people of BJP accept your decision, we will also accept your decision in the same way," he said.

Shinde, whose Shiv Sena faction emerged as the second-largest party in this election with 57 MLA-elects, said the decision regarding the next chief minister would be made at the meeting of the Mahayuti allies with BJP veteran and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday.

Shinde served as the chief minister for two-and-a-half years, before resigning from the post on Nov. 26 on the completion of the Maharashtra legislative assembly's tenure. He was accompanied by Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, who served as deputy chief ministers in the Mahayuti government, while submitting the resignation letter to Governor C P Radhakrishnan.

The ruling Mahayuti coalition—comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party—won the Nov. 20 assembly elections with a landslide mandate. The alliance cumulatively secured a commanding 230 out of 288 seats. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party, winning 132 seats, followed by the Shinde-led Sena winning 57 and Ajit Pawar's NCP winning 41.