BJP firm on Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde may have to swallow bitter pill

Suspense over the new Maharashtra Chief Minister continued as the BJP remained firm on Devendra Fadnavis for the top post and ruled out a ‘Bihar model’ as suggested by some leaders of its Mahayuti ally Shiv Sena.

Who have been pushing their case for Eknath Shinde to return as the Chief Minister. In Bihar, the NDA is in power where the JD(U) chief Nitish Kumar is the Chief Minister despite the BJP having more numbers in the state Assembly.

Asked about the suggestion of a Bihar-like situation in Maharashtra, BJP spokesperson Prem Shukla ruled out such a scenario, telling The Indian Express that the party had a stronger organisational base and leadership.

He said that the BJP had honoured a commitment that it made during campaigning in Bihar to make Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister. He argued that the party did not make such a commitment to Eknath Shinde continuing as the Chief Minister after the Maharashtra elections.

Shukla said the BJP top brass had always made it clear throughout the elections that it would take a call on the chief ministerial face after the results were declared.

SENA ROOTS FOR EKNATH SHINDE, BJP UNHAPPY WITH ‘PRESSURE TACTICS’
Earlier, Shiv Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske had cited the ‘Bihar model’ to assert that Eknath Shinde should continue as the chief minister.

“We feel Shinde should be the Chief Minister, just like in Bihar where the BJP did not look at the numbers but still made JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar the Chief Minister. Senior leaders of the Mahayuti in Maharashtra will ultimately take a decision,” Mhaske, a Lok Sabha MP, said.

However, the BJP leadership is believed to have been unhappy with Eknath Shinde’s supporters applying “pressure tactics” to push their case for their head for the top post.

The Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, retained power by winning a whopping 230 of the 288 Assembly seats in the just-concluded state polls. The BJP secured 132, Shiv Sena 57 and NCP 41. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) finished with just 46 seats, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) getting 20, Congress 10 and Sharad Pawar-led NCP 10.

Following the results, it was widely speculated that Fadnavis, a former Chief Minister who was virtually the BJP’s face during the campaign, would take office again, as his party emerged as the single largest party. However, the Shiv Sena has remained adamant that Eknath Shinde should continue as the Chief Minister due to the popularity of the Mahayuti government’s policies, particularly the Ladki Bahin Yojana, which played a huge role in the alliance’s massive win.

The Ajit Pawar-led NCP has also batted for Fadnavis to return as the Chief Minister. Fadnavis served as the Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019.

On Tuesday, Eknath Shinde resigned as the Chief Minister and was asked by Governor CP Radhakrishnan to continue as the caretaker Chief Minister till the new government was sworn in. This was necessitated as the term of the Maharashtra Assembly ended on Tuesday.

BJP SAYS NO RUSH TO NAME CHIEF MINISTERIAL CANDIDATE
The BJP said it would not rush into announcing its chief ministerial candidate until the distribution of portfolios in the new Maharashtra government was finalised, according to party sources.

“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. That includes finalising ministerial portfolios and distributing key posts such as district guardian ministers,” a state BJP leader told PTI while requesting anonymity.

The careful approach stems from the desire to avoid friction among the coalition partners, he said.

NCP SAYS AJIT PAWAR CAN BECOME CHIEF MINISTER, BUT HAS ‘PRACTICAL LIMITATIONS’
NCP president Sunil Tatkare told India Today TV that Ajit Pawar should become the Chief Minister, but acknowledged that the party had “practical limitations” and it should not “daydream”.

“We are realistic, we should not daydream. We should be practical about it. I even feel that Ajit Pawar should be made the Chief Minister, but there are practical limitations before us. Last time, when the NDA formed the government, Eknath Shinde ji was made the Chief Minister because the situation was different.”

He said that the Mahayuti would take a decision on the chief ministerial post in a day or two. “There is no confusion. Obviously, there will be an NDA Chief Minister in Maharashtra,” Tatkare said.

He credited the Eknath Shinde leadership and the schemes announced by his government for the dominant performance of the Ajit Pawar-led party.

“There was definitely an undercurrent in favour of Ajit Pawar. Ladki Bahin Yojana has done wonders for the alliance. People have accepted that Ajit Pawar is the real NCP leader. After the Lok Sabha results, our workers were demoralised, but we worked very hard to achieve these results,” Tatkare said.