The three major leaders of the ruling alliance Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar met with Union Home Minister and the BJP’s chief strategist Amit Shah in Delhi, and the question of who would be Maharashtra’s Chief Minister is expected to be settled.
The meeting, which finished at midnight, is believed to be the last one until the Chief Minister is appointed. According to sources, the move now need just Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approval.
The meeting was conducted a day after Eknath Shinde stated that he would not be a “obstacle” to the BJP Central leadership’s choice on the top seat, thereby paving the way for Mr Fadnavis, who is widely seen as the front-runner in the race.
“I have told PM Modi that I would not be an obstacle. We would go with whatever he decides,” Mr Shinde had told reporters. He also said he was not “not greedy for any position” and ‘no one is upset”.
Earlier today, sources had said that the Chief Minister would be from the BJP, who would have two deputies.
The other hiccup in Mr Fadnavis’s naming for the top post is caste dynamics. An overwhelming number of the 288 MLAs are from the Maratha community, while Mr Fadnavis belongs to the Brahmin community, which caused a backlash of sorts in 2014 as well.
According to sources, Mr Shah consulted senior party leader Vinod Tawde on the topic.
Earlier, during the community’s quota movement, Maratha leader Manoj Jarange-Patil referred to Mr Fadnavis as a “Maratha-hater”.
The BJP appears to want to clear all uncertainties before making a public declaration.
Today’s discussions will also encompass the shape of the cabinet, sources said. While the maximum number of ministers the state can have is 42, the division could be 22 ministries for the BJP, 12 for the Sena and 10 for Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party, sources said, indicating that the BJP is also bargaining for the key portfolios, including home.
The arrangement mirrors the seat sharing deal and the pattern of the victory, where the BJP contested the maximum and won 132 seats, establishing its claim for the top post.
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Source: NDTV
