After winning the political battle of Maharashtra Assembly elections, the process of forming the government has gained momentum, but even after getting such a huge mandate, there is still suspense regarding the post of Chief Minister in the Grand Alliance. After BJP becoming the largest party, Devendra Fadnavis’s name is leading in the race for CM, but getting the final approval is not easy. While Eknath Shinde is firmly on the post of CM, the Ajit Pawar camp is also desperate for political power. Both Shiv Sena and NCP camps are staking claim to the post of CM.
Since the announcement of Maharashtra election results, separate meetings of BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP leaders are going on from Mumbai to Delhi. Along with this, the politics of creating pressure for the post of CM has also started. Ajit Pawar has been elected leader in the NCP legislature party meeting. Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal raised the demand to make Ajit Pawar the Chief Minister. At the same time, Shiv Sena MLAs chose Eknath Shinde as their leader and party leader Pratap Sarnaik said that all the MLAs want Eknath Shinde to remain the CM.
BJP’s National General Secretary Vinod Tawde says that the current tenure of Maharashtra Assembly is ending at 12 midnight on Tuesday 26th November. In such a situation, a government has to be formed before that. All three parties will together take a decision regarding the post of CM and we will soon take a decision in this regard. Both NCP and Shiv Sena are waiting for BJP’s decision so that the government can be formed. The way both the allies of BJP have raised the demand of making their respective leaders the CM, one thing is clear that the decision of commanding power in the grand alliance is not easy.
‘Hero’ of Mahayuti’s Mahajeet
Mahayuti has got a bumper seat in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. Mahayuti has created history by winning 230 seats out of total 288 seats in the Assembly. BJP has won 132 seats, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena has won 57 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP has won 41 seats. Apart from this, Mahayuti along with independents and small parties has the support of 236 MLAs. The strike rate of BJP was 89 percent, Shiv Sena was 72 percent and NCP was 77 percent. Even after getting such a big mandate, BJP is not able to reach a decision. The people of the state are waiting for their Chief Minister. People’s eyes are also on who will be the new CM of Maharashtra.
Efforts to form a new government have started and a meeting of prominent BJP leaders was held in Delhi. For the last two days, meetings have been going on between top BJP leaders in Delhi, while in Mumbai too, the process of meeting party leaders with MLAs is going on. The process of MLAs meeting Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is continuing. Besides, meetings of MLAs who won from party election in-charge Bhupendra Yadav, Ashwini Vaishnav, Devendra Fadnavis and state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule are being held continuously.
Eye on BJP legislature party leader
BJP’s legislative party meeting will be held in Mumbai on Monday, in which the leader of the party legislative party will be elected. Only after this, BJP will hold a meeting with Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP and decide to form the government. Maharashtra is an important state from both political and economic points of view. In such a situation, BJP is making every effort to make its Chief Minister, because despite being the largest party in 2019, it had to be content with the post of Deputy Chief Minister. This time BJP has been successful in winning the maximum number of seats in Maharashtra politics, due to which its claim on the post of CM is being considered the strongest.
The credit for BJP’s excellent performance in Maharashtra is being given to Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Devendra Fadnavis became the Chief Minister in 2014 and ran the government for five years. Took oath as Chief Minister again in 2019, but had to resign after four days. This time, Fadnavis played an important role in the way Maharashtra’s electoral fortunes have changed within five months after the defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. That is why the possibility of Fadnavis becoming CM is being expressed.
Before Devendra Fadnavis, Manohar Joshi, being a Brahmin from Shiv Sena, became CM, but due to Maratha and OBC, BJP can also give surprise. Due to the unity of Maratha leaders in 2019, Fadnavis’s hopes of becoming CM were dashed. Apart from this, Modi-Shah often surprise with their decisions. Last year itself, it was seen in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan. Fadnavis’s name is also running for BJP. In such a situation, it remains to be seen whether BJP chooses Fadnavis or some new name will be approved.
Will Eknath Shinde leave the chair?
Before the Maharashtra election results, Eknath Shinde was keeping himself out of the race for the post of CM. During the elections, he had said that this time he is not in the race for CM, but after getting good seats in the results, now he is again keeping himself in the race. The way CM Eknath Shinde has managed to win the battle of real Shiv Sena against Uddhav Thackeray in the elections, after that his party leaders are not ready to step down from the post of CM. After being elected the leader of Shiv Sena Legislative Party, Eknath Shinde thanked all his MLAs and remained silent on the question of CM, but his party has started lobbying vigorously.
Supporters of Eknath Shinde say that Shinde has done a good job in the first innings, hence he should get a second chance. Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik said that all the MLAs want Eknath Shinde to remain the CM. Apart from this, Shiv Sena leaders Naresh Mhaske, Sanjay Shirsat and Deepak Kesarkar said that they want their leader to remain the Chief Minister. In this way, Shiv Sena leaders and MLAs have started openly claiming to make Eknath Shinde the CM and they say that the election was fought on his face. Maharashtra’s mandate has been given to Shinde after his two and a half year tenure, which makes him a contender.
Ajit Pawar is also showing power
Despite separation from Sharad Pawar, Ajit Pawar has finally proved his political mettle. Ajit Pawar’s party has proved that the real NCP is his by winning 41 out of 59 seats in its quota. On Sunday, Ajit Pawar was elected the leader of the NCP legislature party. NCP has started voting to make Ajit Pawar the CM. NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said that Ajit Pawar should be made the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, because his strike rate is very good. All the MLAs of the party also want that Ajit Pawar should lead the assembly.
NCP may be claiming the post of CM, but Ajit Pawar may agree to the post of Deputy CM. Ajit Pawar will also seem to be agreeable to being made the CM of BJP. NCP and Shinde camp are keeping an eye on who gets elected as the leader of BJP’s legislature party. Only after this the decision regarding CM has to be taken. It is believed that all three parties will sit together and take a decision, but will Shinde agree to be made the CM of BJP?
