Chief ministers in waiting: Who will rule Maharashtra next?
In Maharashtra, upcoming elections raise questions on who will win- Mahayuti or MVA, and who will be the next CM. Various names are in contention
In about two months, people in Maharashtra will be voting to elect the new government and two questions are dominating any discussion on the subject. First, will Mahayuti retain power or will it be MVA? Second, who will be the next chief minister?
As both sides gear up for the grand battle, about a dozen names are doing the rounds. Either the aspirants themselves are plotting and planning to grab the chair on the sixth floor of Mantralaya or their supporters are projecting them as future CMs.
In the ruling alliance, close aides of chief minister Eknath Shinde are confident that the alliance will retain power, thanks to the sops showered on the people and Shinde will continue in the top job. BJP legislators are insisting that their party will win more seats than allies and naturally, the CM would be from their party. They are, however, not sure if Devendra Fadnavis will return to the CMO or will the party leadership pick a new face—such as Pankaja Munde (considering the party’s OBC push) or Vinod Tawde (a Maratha acceptable to all) or a surprise candidate the way it did in MP and Rajasthan? NCP workers are vocal in projecting deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar as the future CM.
On the other side, the competition could be fierce. Shiv Sena (UBT) has already said that the party would insist that Uddhav Thackeray should be the face of the MVA. However, leaders of Congress, which got the highest number of Lok Sabha seats in the state (13), are convinced that their party will lead the next government. The frontrunners are state Congress chief Nana Patole and legislative unit head Balasaheb Thorat. Some say former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan too would be in contention. The leadership may also go for a young Maratha face considering its long-term interest in the state. If Sharad Pawar-led NCP gets a choice, it would be Supriya Sule, though some party leaders think Jayant Patil could be picked due to his experience in government.
Significantly, in the past three decades, the selection of CMs after assembly elections often threw up a surprise: Manohar Joshi (1995), Vilasrao Deshmukh (1999 and 2004) and Uddhav Thackeray (2019). Only on two occasions was it predictable: Ashok Chavan (2009) and Fadnavis (2014). Ironically, in 2022, when the MVA government collapsed, it was widely expected that Fadnavis would be the CM. The BJP leadership sprang a surprise by picking Shinde. Interestingly, except Ashok Chavan, no incumbent chief minister has managed to retain his chair in the past three decades.
Did Ajit snub uncle?
The Pawar vs Pawar bitter face-off in the meeting of Pune District Planning Development Council (DPDC) meeting has become a big talking point in the state’s political circles. In the past four-five decades, nobody threw a rulebook at Pawar in response to any question he raised. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar did it on Saturday. As Sharad Pawar asked a question about distribution of funds in Pune, Ajit who was heading the meeting as guardian minister of the district, said the invitees (like MPs and MLAs) cannot ask questions and only the members of the DPDC can do it. He cited a government resolution (GR) on the issue. NCP (SP) leaders have remarked that Ajit will be taught a lesson by the people for “insulting Pawar”.
Picking candidates, the Pawar way
Even before starting the campaign, NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has started announcing his candidates for the assembly elections. In most cases, he addresses public meetings and introduces the candidate for the area.
In Tasgaon in Sangli, he appealed to people to support Rohit Patil, son of former home minister late R R Patil. In Ambegaon in Pune district, he projected Devdutt Nikam opposite NCP minister Dilip Walse-Patil. In Ahmednagar’s Akole constituency, he announced the name of Amit Bhangre, son of a local leader Ashok Bhangre. On Saturday, he also admitted former state minister Madhav Kinhalkar into his party. Kinhalkar could be party candidate in Bhokar, assembly constituency of Ashok Chavan. He also met NCP MLA Atul Benke at the residence of Shirur MP Amol Kolhe. Speculations are that Benke may join NCP (SP). It seems, the veteran of many battles has already identified candidates for constituencies he is going to contest. Significantly, most of them are young, in their 30s and 40s.
Another potboiler?
At the launch of the trailer of “Dharmaveer 2”, a sequel of the biopic on Shiv Sena leader late Anand Dighe, promoted by chief minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis asked whether he is also shown in the movie. “It will be in part 3,” came the reply. Fadnavis then said he would like to produce a movie sometime. “In my movie, I will tear the masks of some people and expose them,” he remarked. No prizes for guessing who would be his target.