Maharashtra caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Ajit Pawar and other Mahayuti leaders met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in Delhi on Thursday
The leaders gathered to deliberate on the formation of the new government in Maharashtra.
Earlier in the day, Eknath Shinde reiterated that there were no obstacles regarding the Chief Minister post and that ‘Ladla Bhai’ is a designation higher than anything else for him.
“I cleared my role in the press conference yesterday that there are no obstacles regarding the Chief Minister of Mahayuti. This ‘ladla bhai’ has arrived in Delhi and the ‘ladla bhai’ is a designation higher than anything else for me,” Shinde told the meeting.
Shinde had said on Wednesday that he would accept any decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the CM face for the state.
“I have told the Prime Minister that if my presence creates any obstacle in forming the government in Maharashtra, there should be no hesitation in making a decision. Whatever decision you take will be acceptable to me,” Shinde said during a press conference in Mumbai.
BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis also asserted that the Mahayuti alliance had no internal differences and that a decision on the Chief Minister would be made soon after consulting the leaders.
Speaking to the media, Fadnavis said, “In our Mahayuti alliance, there has never been a difference of opinion. We have always made decisions collectively. Before the elections, we announced that the decision regarding the Chief Minister’s post would be taken collectively after the results. A few people had doubts, but Eknath Shinde ji has clarified those today. We will soon meet our leaders and finalise the decision.”
The Maharashtra Assembly election results were declared on November 23, but the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has yet to finalise its choice for Chief Minister.
The BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats in the 280-member Maharashtra Assembly, while its allies–the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, and the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar–won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
