India
‘Decision will be taken in Mumbai’: Shinde at Maharashtra CM post after important Mahayuti meeting | India News – Times of India
Shinde’s comments came after an important meeting in Delhi between Shinde, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, NCP’s Ajit Pawar and other Mahayuti leaders with Union Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda.
“The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. We had a discussion with Amit Shah and JP Nadda,” Shinde said.
“There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti. At this meeting, a decision will be taken on who will become the prime minister. The meeting will be held in Mumbai,” he added.
Earlier, Shinde confirmed that there were no issues regarding the Prime Minister’s stand and he would accept any decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“I clarified my role at the press conference yesterday that there are no obstacles regarding the Mahayuti Chief Minister. This ‘ladla bhai’ has arrived in Delhi and the ‘ladla bhai’ for me is a higher designation than anything else,” said Shinde. .
“I have told the Prime Minister that if my presence poses any obstacle in forming the government in Maharashtra, there should be no hesitation in taking any decision. Whatever decision you take will be acceptable to me,” he said.
Fadnavis also reaffirmed the unity of the alliance and stated that a decision on the Prime Minister’s position would be taken after consultations with the leaders.
Speaking to the media, Fadnavis said, “In our Mahayuti alliance, there has never been any difference of opinion. We have always taken decisions collectively. Before the elections, we announced that the decision on the Chief Minister’s post would be taken collectively after the rash.”
“A few people had doubts but Eknath Shinde ji has cleared them up today. We will meet our leaders soon and finalize the decision,” he added.
The Shiv Sena, which secured 57 seats in the assembly, has been pushing for Shinde as chief minister, citing his leadership in securing the coalition’s substantial victory. They point to exit polls indicating Shinde’s popularity for the position.
The BJP, which secured its highest ever tally of 132 seats in the 288-member assembly, claims that Devendra Fadnavis should be the next chief minister.
In 2022, when the BJP allied with Shinde Sena after the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, Shinde became chief minister with Fadnavis as deputy. Despite the recent election results, Shiv Sena supports maintaining this arrangement. Some Sena leaders are pointing to the Bihar model, where Nitish Kumar heads the NDA government despite JD(U) having fewer seats than BJP.
