Five months is a very long time in politics and Devendra Fadnavis can tell you this. The Maharashtra BJP leader offered to resign in June, taking responsibility for the setback his party faced in the Lok Sabha elections in Maharashtra. In November, he emerged as one of the stars of the BJP-led Mahayuti’s victory in the assembly elections. The second is Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde. In such a situation, now the focus is on the main question, who will be the next Chief Minister – Devendra Fadnavis or Eknath Shinde?
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Senior BJP leaders have publicly supported Deputy Chief Minister and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as a possible candidate for the top post. Talking to journalists, BJP leader Chandrakant Patil said that our Central Parliamentary Board will decide who will be the CM. However, if we are asked, we will unanimously say that Devendra Fadnavis should be the Chief Minister. Patil also reiterated that the final decision depends on the central leadership of the BJP.
Meanwhile, BJP MLA Praveen Darekar argued that the post of chief minister should go to the party securing the most seats within the alliance. “Based on current trends, I believe BJP will be the largest party and Devendra Fadnavis should become the chief minister,” he said. At the same time, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are all leading in their respective constituencies, due to which the competition for the post of Chief Minister has intensified.
BJP insiders insist that the alliance’s victory was driven by Fadnavis’s leadership and campaign strategies, which could strengthen his claim for the role. However, as part of the alliance, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde may also stake his claim pointing to his tenure as chief minister last year. Regarding the question of Chief Minister, Eknath Shinde said that the way our alliance parties fought the elections together, in the same way we will sit together and decide the candidate for the post of Chief Minister.
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There is no difference of opinion within our alliance regarding the Chief Minister. He said that our government has worked together with the central government. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has always been especially supporting Maharashtra. His government has also done special work regarding Maharashtra. It is being told that BJP has become fully active after the election trends of Maharashtra. Amit Shah himself has taken command in his own hands. It is being told that apart from Devendra Fadnavis, Amit Shah has also talked to Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar for 25-25 minutes.
