Amid the continuing suspense over a new Maharashtra Chief Minister, the Shiv Sena on Wednesday said that Eknath Shinde will never accept the post of Deputy Chief Minister. A Shinde Sena leader said the ruling Mahayuti’s thumping win in the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly polls was only because of Eknath Shinde.
“The Assembly elections were fought in the name of Eknath Shinde. He deserves to return as the Chief Minister. He will not accept the position of the Deputy Chief Minister,” Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat told India Today TV.
“If the BJP fulfils our demand (to make Shinde the Chief Minister), a good message will go out to the people. Future elections will prove to be beneficial for us if Shinde is the Chief Minister,” he added.
The Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Shinde Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, retained power in Maharashtra by winning a whopping 230 of the 288 Assembly seats in the high-stakes polls.
The BJP won 132 seats, Shiv Sena 57 and NCP 41. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) finished with just 46 seats, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) getting 20, Congress 10 and Sharad Pawar-led NCP 10.
After the results, the BJP batted for Fadnavis to become the Chief Minister, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP also rooted for their leader to occupy the top spot.
Fadnavis served as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019.