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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde confirmed on Friday that a decision on the next Chief Minister of the state will be made in "a day or two." He added that "good and positive" discussions had been held with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP President J P Nadda regarding the issue of government formation.
Shinde, who was speaking to reporters before leaving for Mumbai, noted that the decision will be finalised during another meeting of the Mahayuti coalition in the state capital. Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, had met Shah and Nadda late on Thursday to discuss a power-sharing agreement following the BJP-led coalition's landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections.
"We will take a decision on the next Maharashtra CM in a day or two," Shinde said. "We have had discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will be informed once a final decision is made." The outgoing chief minister stated that he would not stand in the way of government formation and would accept the decision made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
Shinde went on to express his commitment to the government formation process, saying, "This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me." He also described the meeting with Shah and Nadda as "good and positive" and added that there was a high degree of coordination among the alliance partners. He emphasised that the coalition would respect the people's mandate and form a government soon.
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The Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), had performed well in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly elections. The BJP won a commanding 132 seats, securing the highest tally among the alliance members. Shiv Sena bagged 57 seats, while the NCP won 41 seats. However, the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance suffered a significant defeat, with Congress winning only 16 seats, while Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) secured just 10 seats. Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20 seats.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were announced on November 23. As per PTI, the final decision on the state's next CM is expected to follow a series of consultations within the Mahayuti coalition.
(With inputs from PTI)
