Maha deadlock over next CM continues, name to be announced on December 4
MUMBAI/ NEW DELHI: The deadlock over deciding the next Maharashtra Chief Minister persisted ten days after the Assembly election results delivered a resounding majority to the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance.
The suspense over the new Chief Minister is expected to end on December 4, when the BJP legislature party elects its new leader. Earlier on Monday, the BJP named Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as its central observers for the legislature party meeting.
Caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde cancelled his meetings on Monday, citing health issues, while NCP leader Ajit Pawar travelled to Delhi to consult with top BJP leadership on government formation. Shinde, who was scheduled to attend a meeting of Mahayuti leaders to finalise the portfolio allocations, is reportedly suffering from a throat infection and fever. He arrived in Thane on Sunday afternoon but did not return to his official residence, Varsha, in Mumbai. The meeting is now scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
The Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and the Ajit Pawar-led faction of the NCP, secured a sweeping victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, winning 230 of the 288 seats. The BJP claimed a record 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena and the NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively. Speculation in political circles suggests a clear edge for the BJP’s chief strategist, Devendra Fadnavis, as the next Chief Minister, given the party’s dominant numbers in the Assembly.
The BJP has announced that the new Chief Minister will take the oath of office at 5 pm on December 5 at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai, in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior leaders. Preparations for the ceremony are underway.
The BJP’s two main allies in the Mahayuti coalition, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party, are each expected to be given deputy Chief Minister positions in the new government.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Eknath Shinde, dismissed media reports suggesting he might be appointed as a deputy Chief Minister in the new state government.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Lok Sabha member stated that he had the opportunity to become a Union Minister after this year’s Lok Sabha elections but declined, choosing instead to focus on party work.
“I have no desire for a position of power. I want to clarify once again that I am not in the race for any ministerial position in the state,” he said.
