The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday said former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will act as the party’s Central Observers for Maharashtra legislative meeting.
Despite the Mahayuti alliance’s resounding victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, over a week has passed, and the alliance is yet to announce the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
On Sunday, Eknath Shinde, the Caretaker Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader, stated that the decision regarding the new Chief Minister lies with the BJP, and assured his full support to the chosen candidate.
In the midst of this, Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde from Kalyan, on Monday, refuted rumors that he might become the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He made it clear that he is not seeking any ministerial role in the state government. He posted on X (formerly Twitter), calling the rumors “baseless” and “false.” Shrikant explained that after the Lok Sabha elections, he had the opportunity to join the Union Cabinet but chose instead to focus on strengthening the party organization. He reiterated that he has no desire for a position in power.
The results of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections were declared on November 23. The Mahayuti alliance won a strong 230 out of 288 seats in the state assembly, but it has yet to finalize its Chief Ministerial candidate. The BJP secured 132 seats, while its allies – the Shiv Sena (led by Eknath Shinde) and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar – won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
On the other hand, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) party suffered a shocking loss. The Shiv Sena (UBT), which was led by Uddhav Thackeray, got only 20 seats, whereas the Congress secured 16, and the NCP faction of Sharad Pawar won only 10 seats.
With inputs from ANI.