New Delhi: Outgoing Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday night to finalise a power-sharing arrangement in the state. This comes after the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a sweeping victory in the assembly elections.
Fadnavis, a former chief minister who led the BJP to surpass the 100-seat mark for the third time in the 288-member assembly, is widely regarded as the leading contender for the chief ministerial role. Ajit Pawar, who serves as the deputy chief minister and leads a faction of the NCP, said that the allocation of ministerial portfolios among the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP would be determined during the meeting with Shah.
Alliance leaders hinted that the new government could be sworn in by December 2. Shinde, accompanied by senior Shiv Sena leaders Uday Samant and Shambhuraj Desai, went to Delhi for the discussions. Before this, Fadnavis met with Ajit Pawar at the residence of NCP leader Sunil Tatkare.
Shinde meets Shah, Nadda
Before the coalition meeting, Shinde had a separate discussion with Shah in Delhi. He was joined by BJP president JP Nadda at Shah’s Krishna Menon Marg residence. Shinde, who travelled from Mumbai, assured reporters that he would not pose any hurdles to the government formation process and would respect the decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. In a statement that appeared to signal his support for the BJP’s leadership in the state, Shinde said, “This ‘ladka bhau’ (beloved brother) has come to Delhi, and being a ‘ladka bhau’ is the greatest honour for me.”
Maharashtra Assembly elections
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance had a landslide victory in the state assembly elections, clinching 230 out of 288 seats. After setbacks in the Lok Sabha elections, the BJP emerged as the strongest performer within the alliance, claiming 132 constituencies. Other Mahayuti allies also delivered impressive results, with Shinde’s Shiv Sena winning 57 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP securing 41.
The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) faced a huge defeat. Congress recorded one of its poorest showings in state assembly elections, managing only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar’s NCP(SP) could win just 10 seats, while Uddhav Thackeray’s faction (UBT) secured 20.
After owing the alliance’s triumph, Eknath Shinde stepped down as Chief Minister on Tuesday, in line with constitutional requirements. Governor CP Radhakrishnan requested Shinde to remain as caretaker CM until a new government is formed.
