Maharashtra govt formation: Deal was Shiv Sena chief would be CM, says neta close to Eknath Shinde

MUMBAI: A Shiv Sena neta close to Eknath Shinde said there was an agreement after the Lok Sabha elections that Shinde would take over the reins of the state if Mahayuti won the assembly polls. The neta said that after the Mahayuti's debacle in the LS polls, there were a series of meetings to draft a strategy for the assembly elections. In these meetings, it was decided that BJP would contest the maximum number of seats followed by Shiv Sena and NCP, but "irrespective of the number of seats the Mahayuti constituents win, Shinde will continue to be the CM if Mahayuti secures a clear majority," the neta said.

However, BJP has taken a different view on this claim, saying that when Union home minister Amit Shah was in Mumbai, he had made it clear that Mahayuti was no doubt contesting the assembly polls under the leadership of Shinde, but in the event Mahayuti secured a clear majority, the new CM would be decided by BJP's parliamentary board and heads of Shiv Sena and NCP. "Shah's statement on the appointment of the new CM is clear. He never said Shinde would be made the CM," a BJP neta said.

Also Read: 'Don't assemble': Eknath Shinde asks party workers not to gather in his support

NCP has already appointed Ajit Pawar as group leader of its legislative party and Shiv Sena too has elected Eknath Shinde as leader of the Shiv Sena legislature party. BJP is yet to convene a meeting of its legislature party. A BJP leader said that was owing to a procedural wrangle. According to BJP procedure, the leader of the legislature party is appointed in the presence of a central observer. "Once the central observer is appointed, we will convene a meeting to elect the leader of the BJP legislature," the BJP neta said.

Also read: BJP firm on Devendra Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM despite Eknath Shinde's resistance

A senior NCP neta expressed surprise over the uncertainty over the CM's post. "After the results were announced, except for a congratulatory message, there is no further word from the BJP leadership. We do not know how to move forward. We were expecting that since Mahayuti has secured an absolute majority, the CM would be quickly elected," the neta said.

Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske said they believe Eknath Shinde will be declared CM by the NDA brass.