Fadnavis Confirmed As Next Maharashtra CM Or Another Twist In Making? Senior BJP Leader Ends Suspense

Maharashtra CM Race: With each passing day, the Maharashtra CM race is getting clear with senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former CM Devendra Fadnavis continuing to have an upper hand.

Amid the suspense, a senior BJP leader on Sunday gave further clarity on the top post, saying that Fadnavis’s name has been finalized and he is set to be elected as the legislature party leader in a meeting. It will be held either on December 2 or 3, he further stated.

Earlier, outgoing CM Eknath Shinde stated that he would support the saffron party’s decision to pick the new chief minister.

"The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalized as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. The meeting to elect the new BJP legislature party meeting will be held on either December 2 or 3," a senior BJP leader told PTI.

Amid all the speculations that his son Shrikant Shinde might get the deputy CM's post and Shiv Sena is having its eyes on the Home portfolio, Shinde said the Mahayuti allies—the BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena—will take the decision pertaining to the government formation through consensus after sitting together.

More than a week after the Mahayuti clinched a massive victory in Maharashtra polls, the new government is yet to be sworn in. The Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The BJP led with 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena got 57 and the NCP 41.

The oath-taking ceremony of the new Mahayuti government is scheduled for December 5 evening at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend.

The BJP legislature party meeting to elect the leader, who will be the party's chief ministerial pick, is yet to be held even though Shiv Sena and NCP have elected Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as their legislature party leaders, respectively.

A senior Mahayuti leader said the allies will jointly decide whether only the chief minister and deputy CMs will take oath on December 5 or ministers will also be sworn in.

Shinde had left for his native village in Satara district on Friday amid speculation that he was not happy with the way the new government was shaping up. He developed high fever in his village.

Talking to reporters in his village on Sunday before leaving for Mumbai, Shinde said, "I have already said the decision on CM's post taken by the BJP leadership will be acceptable to me and Shiv Sena and will have my full backing."

(With PTI Inputs)