Maharashtra Elections: BJP To Get Chief Minister Post, Shiv Sena And NCP Given Deputy Roles
The BJP has decided to take the chief minister role in Maharashtra, leaving the deputy chief minister positions for Shiv Sena and NCP, following the Mahayuti's assembly election win.
The Bharatiya Janata Party will get the post of chief minister of Maharashtra, while allies Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party will get the roles of deputy chief ministers, NDTV reported, quoting sources on Wednesday.
The Mahayuti, which secured a thumping victory in last week's Maharashtra assembly election, has seen internal wrangling over the post of chief minister. The Shiv Sena has been demanding Eknath Shinde retain his role.
State BJP leaders, on the other hand, have rallied behind Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister. The NCP too has indicated it will support the BJP to take the lead in a new government.
Amid the speculations, Shinde, who is presently the state's caretaker chief minister, said he is fully supporting the BJP. He told a press briefing earlier in the day that 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 NCP—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.
