Shinde steps down; no clarity yet on who will be next CM

Mumbai, Nov 26 (PTI) Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Tuesday stepped down as Maharashtra Chief Minister, even as the suspense over who will succeed him as the new CM continued, three days after state assembly election results were announced.

In Delhi, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said the BJP leadership has decided to make Devendra Fadnavis as the CM for the third time, but there was no confirmation on this from the BJP.

Shinde and Fadnavis were together early Tuesday morning at an event in the Mumbai police commissioner’s office to pay tributes to martyrs of the 26/11 terror attack, but hardly exchanged a word.

Shinde’s resignation came amid a growing chorus from within his Shiv Sena party that he continue in the post as the assembly elections were fought and won under his leadership.

Accompanied by deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Shinde met Governor C P Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan earlier in the day to submit his resignation as the chief minister.

The Governor then requested Shinde to continue in a caretaker role until the new chief minister is sworn in, a Raj Bhavan official said. The outgoing assembly’s term concluded on Tuesday, adding urgency to the transition process.

The ruling Mahayuti coalition showed an impressive performance in the recent assembly elections, where it secured a commanding 230 out of 288 seats. The BJP got 132 seats followed by the Shinde-led Shiv Sena with 57 and Ajit Pawar led-NCP with 41 seats.

Deepak Kesarkar, a minister in the Shinde cabinet, told reporters that a new government will be sworn in at the earliest.

Despite the landslide victory, the Mahayuti alliance, which comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, is grappling with disagreements on who will be the next CM, sources said.

Kesarkar said while Shiv Sena cadre wants the next CM to be from their party, the ultimate decision will rest with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, which they will accept.

Meanwhile, BJP sources told PTI that the party would not rush into announcing its chief ministerial candidate until the distribution of portfolios in the new state government is finalised.

The indications that the Mahayuti coalition’s decision on who would become the next CM would be delayed emerged as the Governor on Tuesday morning asked Eknath Shinde to act as a caretaker chief minister after he tendered his resignation.

“The central leadership is in no hurry to name a candidate for the chief minister’s post. We have secured a decisive mandate, and the priority now is to work out a comprehensive plan for government formation. That includes finalising ministerial portfolios and distribution of key posts such as district guardian ministers,” a state BJP leader told PTI while requesting anonymity.

The careful approach stems from the desire to avoid friction among the coalition partners, he said.

“With the ongoing parliamentary session, the central leadership is stretched thin, holding meetings with both Maharashtra BJP leaders and allies while also handling floor management in Parliament,” a party leader noted.

As for the announcement of the chief minister candidate, the source said, “The BJP central body will appoint an observer or a team of observers who will visit Mumbai. They will meet the MLAs and senior party functionaries to finalise the cabinet formula. Once that is done, they will announce the party’s choice for the leader of the legislative wing.”

While Fadnavis, who was virtually the BJP’s face during the campaign, is the frontrunner for the top post following his party’s spectacular electoral performance, Shiv Sena leaders have said they would like Eknath Shinde to continue, indicating that the Sena has not ceded its claim.

Ajit Pawar’s NCP is yet to open its cards, though Chhagan Bhujbal, a senior leader of the party, recently said that Fadnavis was acceptable to them.