Eknath Shinde resigns, suspense continues on next Maharashtra CM
MUMBAI: After the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance won a landslide victory in Maharashtra Assembly elections three days ago, it would have been a rather smooth going to pick the next chief minister but the thorny question of who will head the new government is keeping the suspense alive.
On Tuesday, Eknath Shinde resigned as Chief Minister, days after the BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena alliance registered a historic victory in the Assembly elections. The term of the current Assembly in the state ended on Tuesday.
As the BJP bagged 132 of the 288 Assembly seats on its own, falling just 13 short of the majority mark of 145, the party’s push for the outgoing deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis seemed to have ruffled feathers in the Shiv Sena’s Shinde faction.
Shinde will serve as caretaker CM of the new Mahayuti-led government.
Shinde handed his resignation to Governor Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. He was accompanied by deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.
Suspense continued on the key question: who will take over as the next chief minister?
Will it be BJP’s architect of victory Devendra Fadnavis or Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde will be allowed to continue?
Many BJP leaders have extended their support for Fadnavis for the record performance of the saffron party. Shinde’s supporters have started thronging his official residence, ‘Varsha,’ to
pitch for his continuation in the top post.
In the process, the announcement of the next chief minister of Maharashtra is stretching further even after Mahayuti’s impressive show in the Assembly elections. The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance scripted a powerful comeback in state Assembly elections by winning 230 seats in the 288-member Assembly.
The historic victory seemed to have erased the memory of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024 losses. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with a maximum number of 132 seats, the highest among all constituents of Mahayuti.
Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP also performed well. Sena won 57 while NCP won 41 seats.
Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback, coming up with one of its worst performances in the state Assembly polls. The Congress won only 16 seats.
Sharad Pawar’s NCP (SCP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray’s (UBT) won only 20 seats.
On its part, the BJP has so far not offered any clues about its strategy as the party seemed to be under pressure from its MLAs who want the party’s chief minister this time. Devendra Fadnavis, the outgoing Deputy Chief Minister, is the frontrunner for the top post. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat indicated that clarity regarding the chief minister’s position would emerge in a day. Discussions are on the cards among Shinde, Fadnavis, and Pawar, along with top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “The three leaders will meet in the evening and take an appropriate decision, which will be communicated to the media later,” Shirsat said.
Shinde’s resignation has paved the way for intense negotiations within the Mahayuti alliance on who would take the top post — Fadnavis or Shinde.
“The central leadership is in no hurry to name a candidate for the chief minister’s post. We have secured a decisive mandate, and the priority now is to work out a comprehensive plan for government formation which includes finalising ministerial portfolios and distribution of key posts such as district guardian ministers,” a senior BJP leader said.
Sources in the BJP indicated that the party’s Central body will appoint an observer or a team of observers who will meet the MLAs and senior party functionaries to finalise the cabinet formula.
Earlier in the day, Shinde and Fadnavis attended a memorial event in Mumbai to honour the martyrs of the 26/11 terror attack. Despite their presence together, the two leaders reportedly exchanged little dialogue, highlighting the palpable tension surrounding the ongoing political situation in Maharashtra.
