Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 26: The Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde submitted the resignation of his ministry to the governor C. P. Radhakrishnan on Tuesday at the expiry of the term of the outgoing Assembly and was asked to continue as the caretaker chief minister as suspense over the new chief minister continued.
With no solution still forthcoming on the top post, the sources within the three-party “Mahayuti” kept repeating the same statement they were making for the last three days, “a decision on the new chief minister in a day or two.” The Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat again said on Tuesday that there would be “clarity on the issue by tonight or tomorrow morning. The decision will be taken by Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar after holding discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and other top leaders of BJP,” He said.
The tenure of the 14th state Assembly ended on Tuesday and incumbent CM Shinde was obliged to submit the resignation of his government. The massive victory of the “Mahayuti” and all the three alliance partners giving matching performance apparently has made the matter complicated to choose the new chief minister.
The BJP having captured 132 seats out of 230 by the “Mahayuti” want the former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to become the Chief Minister, while Shiv Sena which has 57 seats are rooting for Mr Shinde to continue. The Ajit Pawar-led NCP having 41 seats is learnt to have decided to back Mr Fadnavis. The Sena spokesperson Naresh Mhaske had cited the ‘Bihar model’ to assert that Eknath Shinde should continue as chief minister even though BJP holds more seats in Assembly.
“We feel Shinde should be the chief minister, just like in Bihar where BJP did not look at the numbers but still made JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar the CM. Senior leaders of the Mahayuti (in Maharashtra) will ultimately take a decision,” Mr Mhaske told reporters. Mr Mhaske also cited the Haryana example where the BJP stuck to incumbent Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini.
BJP’s Pravin Darekar, however, said the people had given a mandate to Devendra Fadnavis. “The people of Maharashtra stood behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In my opinion, Fadnavis should become the chief minister. Maharashtra needs an astute and academic leader. He kept the alliance united, gave our allies candidates, and even stepped back when required. He has always maintained coordination,” the MLC said. According to sources, BJP leaders are pushing for Mr Fadnavis for the top post and any other decision would demoralise the party ranks.
The BJP’s ideological parent RSS, which played a key role in its Maharashtra victory, also favours Mr Fadnavis, MLA from Nagpur South-West. The RSS will be celebrating its centenary next year and wants a BJP Chief Minister, it is learnt.
For Mr Shinde, the situation is back to square as his earlier party boss, the then Shiv Sena chief Udhhav Thackeray faced in 2019. In the 2019 Maharashtra polls, long term allies BJP and the undivided Shiv Sena won 105 and 56 seats, respectively. But differences cropped up over the Chief Minister post. Soon after, Sena chief Udhhav Thackeray pulled the plug on the alliance and joined hands with NCP and Congress to form the government. This government was toppled when Mr Shinde led a rebellion that split the Sena.
Five years on, Mr Shinde is in a similar situation as his former boss. But there is a big difference. This time the BJP does not need Sena’s support to form the government as long as the NCP supports it. And the Ajit Pawar-led party, it is learnt, is already on board. Mr Shinde and his party has become redundant unless it is prepared to toe the BJP line.
Mr Shinde is left with few options other than trying to get a good deal in the distribution of ministerial berths. Stepping back from the Chief Minister post will open Mr Shinde to barbs from the Opposition camps. Mr Thackeray has already taken a swipe, saying that Mr Shinde would have to “work under” Devendra Fadnavis in the new government.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut criticised and mocked Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party, saying being in alliance with BJP they cannot decide on the candidate for Maharashtra Chief Minister and have instead become “sub-companies of BJP.” “The CM will be decided by Union Home Minister Amit Shah and PM Narendra Modi. Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar cannot make decisions for their parties on their own. These two parties are slaves of Amit Shah and PM Modi and are sub-companies of the BJP,” he said at a press conference in Mumbai.
The Maharashtra Congress President Nana Patole also commented on the delay in deciding the chief ministerial choice. He accused the BJP alliance of disregarding the concerns of Maharashtra’s people, stating, “They are looking for someone who can sell Maharashtra. The Chief Minister will be someone who blindly signs papers for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favoured corporate friends, which is why this delay is happening.”
Apparently realising that they were fighting for a losing cause, the Shiv Sena leader and a minister in the outgoing cabinet Deepak Kesarkar said on Tuesday that any decision taken by Mr Modi and Mr Shah would be acceptable to him. “CM Shinde has clearly said that whatever decision PM Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah take, it will be acceptable to him,” he told reporters.
