Mumbai/New Delhi: The suspense over who will be Maharashtra’s new chief minister will end on December 4, when the state BJP legislature party elects its new leader, a senior party functionary said on Monday.
Earlier in the day, the BJP named Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as its central observers for the legislature party meeting.
Devendra Fadnavis, two-time former chief minister, is widely seen as the frontrunner for the top post. The meeting will be held Wednesday morning in Vidhan Bhawan, a party functionary said.
However, even though no formal announcement has been made, a senior BJP leader claimed that Devendra Fadnavis’ name had been finalised for the CM’s post.
Mahayuti allies — Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party — are each likely to get deputy CM positions.
Fadnavis was deputy CM in the outgoing Eknath Shinde-led government.
He has served as chief minister twice. However, the second stint lasted for only a few days. Fadnavis is the second person after Vasantrao Naik to complete a full tenure as Maharashtra CM.
Eknath Shinde’s son and Shiv Sena MP, Srikant Shinde, said the speculation about him getting the deputy CM’s post in the new state government was false and baseless.
“The news that I will be the deputy chief minister has been circulating with question marks for the past two days. There is no truth to this, and all such news are baseless,” the Kalyan MP said on X.
He said despite an opportunity to become a minister in the central government after the Lok Sabha elections, he had turned it down to focus on strengthening the party organisation.
“I have no desire for a position of power. I make it clear once again that I am not in the race for any ministerial position in the state,” he added.
The caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde has already made it clear that he will not come in the way of the BJP getting the chief minister’s post.
“I have already given my unconditional support to the party leadership and I will support their decision. The government will be formed, and there won’t be any issues. There is coordination between all three parties. More than what we get, our aim will be to give more to the people of Maharashtra,” Shinde told the media in Satara on Sunday.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani have been named as central observers for its Maharashtra legislature party meeting, where the MLAs will elect their leader.
A BJP functionary told PTI that Rupani and Sitharaman would meet the party’s elected representatives in Mumbai on Wednesday. Following this meeting, the chosen candidate’s name will be relayed to senior leaders in Delhi. These observers will then announce the elected leader of the BJP, who is set to be the next chief minister.
The BJP has announced that the new chief minister will take oath on December 5 at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders.
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 seats.
