'Had I requested...': Devendra Fadnavis on Maharashtra chief minister post

Devendra Fadnavis was widely expected to return as chief minister last week after Uddhav Thackeray quit, but the BJP leader stepped aside for Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde.

Devendra Fadnavis - the new Maharashtra deputy chief minister - said Tuesday he 'could have become chief minister had I requested' and that making Eknath Shinde - the Shiv Sena MLA behind the revolt that ousted Uddhav Thackeray - chief minister 'was my proposal'.

Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde in conversation with deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. (ANI Photo) (Deepak Salvi)

Fadnavis, a two-time former chief minister, also said he only accepted the deputy's post after senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders intervened and told him 'the government won't run (if he) stayed out of it'. "So I accepted the deputy CM post on their command," he said.

"Had I requested, I could have become chief minister. We made (a) Shiv Sena (leader) chief minister for ideology... it was my proposal to make Shinde chief minister but senior party leaders said govt won't run if I stayed out, so I accepted deputy post on their command," he was quoted by news agency ANI.

Fadnavis was widely expected to return as chief minister last week, after Uddhav Thackeray stepped down hours before having to face a floor test that he was almost certain to lose.

READ | Not keen on games, but not going away forever: Uddhav Thackeray

However, shortly after Shinde and Fadnavis met governor BS Koshyari to stake their claim to the government, the BJP leader dropped a bombshell. He named Shinde chief minister and said the BJP would offer only external support.

READ | Shinde will be chief minister of Maharashtra, announces Fadnavis

Minutes later, though, there was (another) twist - senior party leaders from Delhi decided that Fadnavis (and the BJP) would, in fact, join the government.

Party chief JP Nadda spoke first and then home minister Amit Shah confirmed Fadnavis would be the deputy; both praised him for accepting the order.

Shinde, meanwhile, praised Fadnavis for showing 'a big heart'.

From outside the party, though, there were a few jabs.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar - who joined with Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress to form the now-deposed government - said, "In (the) BJP, once the order comes it is followed without compromise."

Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray offered his commiserations, saying '...sometimes one has to accept party's instructions'.

On Monday the Shinde-Fadnavis government secured a comfortable win in its floor test, claiming 164 of the assembly's 288 seats.

Fadnavis on Monday also said the last decisions taken by the Uddhav Thackeray cabinet - the renaming of Aurangabad and Osmanabad, as well as naming the new Navi Mumbai airport - would be upheld since 'we're of the same view'.

With input from ANI