Maharashtra CM Selection Still in Limbo: Ramdas Athawale Says Devendra Fadnavis to Become Next Chief Minister
After the Maharashtra assembly elections, where the Mahayuti alliance secured a resounding victory, the state remains in political uncertainty regarding the selection of the next Chief Minister. Ramdas Athawale, a prominent BJP leader, confirmed that Devendra Fadnavis will likely take the role, as the BJP holds the largest share of seats. While Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena is pushing for his continuation as CM, Athawale dismissed this possibility, suggesting Shinde should consider moving to national politics. As of now, no official announcement has been made, despite the clear victory of the alliance.
Maharashtra CM Selection Still in Limbo: The political situation in Maharashtra remains uncertain despite the Mahayuti alliance’s massive victory in the state assembly elections. While the results came in three days ago, the name of the next Chief Minister has yet to be announced. Adding fuel to the fire, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale has claimed that BJP has already decided that Devendra Fadnavis will be the next CM. He also suggested Eknath Shinde should consider moving to central politics.
BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) prominent leader Athawale claims that BJP has majority of the legislative support and Fadnavis will be the CM. He said the BJP leadership has communicated this to Shinde. While referring to Shinde's demands for another term, Athawale clarified that BJP was not ready to make such a commitment since no assurance had come from the central government-which has happened in Bihar formula where PM Modi made promises to Nitish Kumar.
Meanwhile, the outgoing Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde, had submitted his resignation to the Governor CP Radhakrishnan. Asked to stay as caretaker CM until the newly sworn-in government, Shinde and Deputy Chief Ministers Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar had gone to the Raj Bhavan to complete the resignation process.
Even though the Mahayuti alliance won 230 out of 288 seats in the Maharashtra assembly, there is still no consensus on which face will emerge to lead the state. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party, but with 132 seats, while Shinde's Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's NCP collectively amassed enough seats to form the government. It is, however, not clear whether Fadnavis or Shinde will be the new Chief Minister. Shinde's insistence on retaining the position of CM, part of what led to the delay, remains unaddressed.
