Maharashtra polls: Mahayuti to decide chief minister jointly, says state BJP chief Bawankule
Hindustan TimesLeaders and workers of the three Mahayuti parties held meetings within their respective outfits on Sunday to discuss government formation and the crucial question of who will be the next chief minister, a day after the coalition notched up a thumping victory in the Maharashtra assembly elections. Senior functionaries of both coalition leader Bharatiya Janata Party and chief minister Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena said they would want to see their own take the top spot and cited a number of reasons for their contention, but they also spoke of efforts to arrive at a consensus, including with the third main ally, Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party. According to the person cited above, Shinde’s camp could Shinde-led Sena leader and state minister Deepak Kesarkar said: “The elections were fought under his leadership and we have fared handsomely. “All our MLAs, MLCs and district presidents decided that Ajit Pawar will lead us in the state assembly,” said senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal after the meeting at Devgiri, the deputy chief minister’s official residence. The BJP leadership will decide who will be Maharashtra’s new chief minister,” he said when asked if they were pushing Ajit Pawar’s name.