Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Nov 27: Even as the Maharashtra caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde said he had left a final decision on the next chief minister’s choice on the Prime Minister Narenda Modi and the union home minister Amit Shah and he would not be a “hurdle” on the path of formation of the new ministry, the Shiv Sena leaders dropped a bomb shell claiming that before the elections the BJP leadership had promised to continue Mr Shinde as the chief minister irrespective of the number of seats won by each party.
The Shiv Sena stand makes clear why despite the massive majority, the three-party “Mahayuti” was unable to decide on the chief ministerial face even four days after the declaration of the results on November 23.
The present situation is peculiarly similar to the undivided Shiv Sena faced after the 2019 elections when the party in alliance with the BJP had won a clear mandate in the state Assembly but the new ministry could not be formed. The then Sena chief Udhhav Thackeray had claimed that the BJP before the elections had promised rotational pattern for chief minister’s post between the two parties irrespective of the number of seats each party won. The BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis denied his party having given any such assurance and insisted that the BJP would continue to have the chief minister’s post for the entire five year term.
The BJP’s insistence forced Mr Thackeray to break away from the BJP and sprang a surprise by joining hands with the Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party to constitute the three-party “Maha Vikas Aghadi” and formed the new ministry. The Thackeray-led government, however, lasted for about two and half years before Mr Shinde split the Sena and returned to the BJP fold to dislodge the MVA government and formed a new ministry by “Mahayuti.” A year later Ajit Pawar also split the NCP and joined the Mahayuti to become deputy chief minister along with Mr Fadnavis.
Like in 2019, the BJP rank and file are insisting that Mr Fadnavis should be made the new CM since the BJP has won a massive mandate claiming 132 seats against Shinde Sena’s 57 and NCP’s 41. Before the elections, the three parties had maintained that the chief minister would be mutually decided by the three parties after the elections, but now the Shinde Sena has dropped the bombshell that the Shinde was always the chief minister irrespective of the seats each party win.
Mr Shinde on Wednesday declared that he would leave the decision to Mr Modi. “Ï have told PM Modi that I would not be an obstacle. We would go with whatever he decides,” Mr Shinde told reporters underscoring that “no one is upset.” With the BJP’s massive score in the assembly election, Devendra Fadnavis was seen as front-runner for the post. But there has been no announcement since Saturday for what was expected to be an automatic and unanimous decision, owing to apparent resistance from Mr Shinde’s party.
Mr Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena has been pitching for a second innings for its chief. Some of his leaders had openly questioned why Maharashtra cannot be another Bihar, where Nitish Kumar plays a dominant role despite better performance by the BJP in elections. In a throwback to 2019, Shinde faction leaders claimed that the BJP had promised them the Chief Minister post ahead of the assembly elections. Top Shiv Sena sources said Sena was promised the Chief Minister post if Mahayuti secured a majority.
Sources said in a series of meetings with top BJP leaders, it was decided that the BJP would contest the maximum number of seats, but irrespective of the number of seats secured by the ruling coalition, Eknath Shinde will continue to be the Chief Minister in case of a victory.
But Mr Shinde on Wednesday dropped a hint that he may no longer continue as the Maharashtra CM and he will support decision of the BJP on the top post. He apparently is having a tough time to convince his supporters in the party not to insist on the chief minister’s post now that the Sena did not have the bargaining capacity. The BJP was in a position to form a ministry with the support of either of the Mahayuti partners. Mr Fadnavis may be named the chief minister with the support of Ajit Pawar’s NCP and dump the Sena.
The BJP state unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule thanked Eknath Shinde after the latter extended full support to NDA for government formation and said PM Modi’s word on the next CM would be final. He also refuted rumours that Shinde was unhappy about being passed over for the post amid rumours that Devendra Fadnavis would be re-appointed in the position.
Mr Shinde said his party would not be a hurdle in the government formation in Maharashtra and offered his support to the NDA. “I will support NDA and the decision of the PM would be final,” he said on the CM face. His statements appeared to clear the way for Fadnavis to become the CM.
Mr Shinde denied any kind of animosities over the ongoing speculation of Maharashtra’s next CM and said he was committed to working for the people in any position he is given. He thanked people for the overwhelming mandate and credited the BJP leadership for standing like a rock behind him.
The BJP Maharashtra in a press release said everyone in the party wanted to see Devendra Fadnavis as the next Chief Minister, while adding that the workers of the allied parties in the Mahayuti want their leaders to be the Chief Minister. “The leaders of all the three parties will sit together and decide. A BJP worker never gets upset with the decision taken by the central leadership. Their decision is final. Party leaders make the right decision. The Chief Minister of Mahayuti will take oath soon,” said the party in a statement.
Shiv Sena (UBT) on Wednesday said the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra won a “bumper lucky draw” in the Assembly elections, but a cloud of suspicion hangs over the use of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). “EVM hai to mumkin hai,” (anything is possible with EVMs), said the editorial in the party mouthpiece ‘Saamana’. “How did the ruling Mahayuti win this “bumper lucky draw” of 230 out of 288 seats? While seeking answers, the thinking stops at the EVMs,” it said.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi candidates who faced defeat in the recent Maharashtra Assembly polls have decided to seek verification of the EVM-Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) units in their segments, a leader of the Opposition alliance said. Many losing candidates of the Opposition Shiv Sena (UBT) pointed fingers at the functioning of the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) during their interaction with party head Uddhav Thackeray on Tuesday.