Mumbai, Nov 28: Eknath Shinde of Shiv Sena, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, and NCP chief Ajit Pawar are scheduled to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to discuss the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. While Fadnavis and Shinde are widely regarded as the top contenders for the position, no official decision has been reached yet.
The meeting comes at a crucial time amid reports suggesting that the BJP may be considering the names of several Maratha leaders, even though many view Fadnavis's ascension as the most likely outcome, given his experience and political standing. The caste dynamics are playing a significant role in these discussions, as a large number of Maharashtra’s 288 MLAs come from the Maratha community, which is influencing the final decision on the CM post.
Fadnavis, a Brahmin, served as Maharashtra's Chief Minister in 2014 and briefly in 2019. Sources close to the BJP indicate that if the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) holds sway in the decision-making, Fadnavis’s chances of returning to the CM’s chair for a third term are high.
Shiv Sena leaders have been vocal in their support for Shinde to continue as the Chief Minister, but the caretaker CM clarified on Wednesday that he had informed both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah that he would accept the BJP's decision regarding the next CM. A close associate of Shinde confirmed on Thursday that the caretaker CM is unlikely to accept the post of Deputy CM in the new government.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a resounding victory in the recent Maharashtra state assembly elections, winning 230 out of the 288 seats. The BJP, recovering from its Lok Sabha election setbacks, bagged 132 seats, the highest among the alliance's constituents. Shiv Sena, led by Shinde, won 57 seats, while NCP, under Ajit Pawar, secured 41 seats.
