Kailash Vijayvargiya pitches for party colleague Fadnavis as Maharashtra CM

Indore, Nov 23 (PTI) Amid the Mahayuti alliance’s dream run in Maharashtra assembly polls, Madhya Pradesh minister Kailash Vijayvargiya on Saturday backed his BJP colleague Devendra Fadnavis for the chief minister’s post in the neighbouring state.

The coalition of the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP is on course to retain power in Maharashtra, where it has won 20 and is leading in 204 of the 288 assembly seats, as per the latest figures of the counting process in the November 20 elections.

The BJP has so far won 12 seats and is ahead in 120, according to the Election Commission.

In MP’s financial capital Indore, BJP workers gathered at the city’s Maat Rajwada Square to celebrate their party’s stunning show in Maharashtra.

“Who will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be decided by the BJP high command and the leaders of the three parties in the Mahayuti alliance, but the BJP workers want Fadnavis to become the CM,” said senior party leader Vijayvargiya.

The minister in MP CM Mohan Yadav’s cabinet said he has been talking to BJP workers from Maharashtra since the morning when the numbers in favour of their party started trickling in.

“Everyone has the same opinion that Fadnavis should become the next chief minister of Maharashtra,” he said.

Vijayvargiya was in charge of BJP’s election management in 12 seats of Nagpur district, including Nagpur South West, where Fadnavis was leading by over 33,275 votes after 22 of the 28 rounds of counting.

Vijayvargiya attributed the BJP’s spectacular performance in Maharashtra to the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the party workers. The results have shown that Congress’ tactic of ratcheting up “wrong issues” doesn’t work time and again.