Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 25: Even as the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP head Ajit Pawar on Monday said discussions were underway among the Mahayuti partners to finalise a formula for the new government formation in the State, the BJP sources claimed that the party leader Devendra Fadnavis is all set to take over as the chief minister.
Even though a final decision was expected to be taken after the union home minister Amit Shah discuss the leadership issue with the top leaders of the three partners of “Mahayuti” in a day or two, the BJP seems unlikely to keep conceding the chief ministership to the smaller allies with Mr Fadnavis sacrificing his claim for the sake of keeping the allies together.
The Shiv Sena is believed to be still exerting pressure on the BJP leadership to adopt Bihar pattern in Maharashtra also which would see their leader Eknath Shinde retained as the chief minister. They pointed out that like in Bihar where Nitish Kumar led the alliance to victory and retained as the chief minister despite the BJP securing more seats than the Janata Dal (United), since Mr Shinde has lead the Mahayuti to massive victory, he should be retained as the chief minister despite the BJP was the big brother among the alliance partners.
The Union Minister and Republican Party of India-Athawale (RPI-A) chief Ramdas Athawale also claimed that Mr Fadnavis was well poised to be elevated from deputy chief minister to take over as the Chief Minister with Mr Shinde and Mr Ajit Pawar his two deputies.
After meeting Mr Fadnavis at his residence, Mr Athawale said the decision on the Chief Minister’s post would be finalised within the next two to three days. He also revealed that the oath-taking ceremony would soon follow and assured that the RPI-A would secure a Cabinet berth.
“In my discussion with Fadnavis, I was informed that the Cabinet formation will be decided shortly, and the oath-taking ceremony will take place in the next two to three days. I have been assured that the RPI-A will also be allocated a ministry in the Cabinet,” Mr Athawale said.
The BJP sources said the party’s top leadership has already cleared Mr Fadnavis’ name for the chief ministership and the proposal has also been approved by both Mr Shinde and Mr Ajit Pawar. “Fadnavis’s name has been approved for CM by the BJP leadership,” said a BJP insider. Other sources in the Mahayuti said, “Apart from Fadnavis as CM, both the Shiv Sena and NCP will have one deputy CM each.” However, a senior Shiv Sena source said, “There has been no consultation with us on making Fadnavis the CM and our party has not agreed on any name for CM yet.”
Shinde who was hoping to be retained as CM is likely to be made the deputy CM along with Pawar. While Shinde was negotiating with the BJP over the last 36 hours, a source said the Sena might land up with around 12 ministerial berths and be given some key portfolios. The NCP is also said to end up with around 10 ministerial berths. The maximum permissible limit for the Council of Ministers in Maharashtra is 43, including the CM. The BJP, which has 132 MLAs, is likely to keep 21 ministerial berths for itself.
The source said the top four portfolios of Home, Finance, Urban Development and Revenue that the BJP was keen on retaining would now be shared with the alliance partners. The BJP may insist on home and finance, according to the BJP insiders. However, some last-minute negotiations on the number of ministerial berths and portfolios was still continuing, according to sources.
There is believed to be also a proposal that Mr Shinde be accommodated in the central cabinet and appoint a leader named by him from his party as deputy chief minister along with Ajit Pawar who is claimed to have already given his support to Mr Fadnavis for the post of chief minister accepting a deputy’s post under him.
In the recently-concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single-largest party, securing 132 seats, followed by Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 57 and Ajit Pawar-led NCP with 41. The Mahayuti alliance collectively won a record 230 of the 288 seats, marking a historic victory.
The BJP broke its previous records of 105 seats in 2019 and 122 in 2014, strengthening its claim for the Chief Minister’s post. Mr Fadnavis remains the frontrunner, with broad support from the alliance.
However, Mr Fadnavis has said, “Leaders of the three parties will sit together to discuss and decide on the chief ministership. This outcome is incredible and unprecedented. People have voted for us wholeheartedly, and we are grateful for their trust.”