‘We won’t disturb this govt': Sanjay Raut's ‘assurance’ to Shinde, Fadnavis

On Thursday, Eknath Shinde took oath as Maharashtra CM while Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as his deputy.

A day after Maharashtra got a new government, with Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis taking oath as CM and deputy CM respectively, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Friday assured that the opposition will not ‘disturb’ the new government.

Sanjay Raut addressing media on Friday. (ANI)

“I congratulate this government, I welcome them. When the Uddhav Thackeray government came, they were saying from the first day that they will disturb him. But we don't do that. They must work for the public,” news agency ANI quoted Raut as saying.

“I don't think our own organisation is weakened, nobody is upset,” the Rajya Sabha MP further said.

The senior Sena politician was speaking to media a day after the political crisis in his home state, which began last week as Shinde launched a revolt against Shiv Sena supremo and now-former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray, came to an end. However, in a dramatic turn of events, BJP leader and 2-time chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who was widely expected to succeed Thackeray – who resigned Wednesday night – announced Shinde, in fact, will be the next appointee to the state's top post.

Fadnavis said he himself will stay out of the government and support it from the outside. However, after public ‘appeals’ by senior BJP leadership, including party chief JP Nadda, the 51-year-old leader ‘agreed’ to take over as the deputy chief minister.

In October 2019, the BJP-Shiv Sena combine won the Maharashtra assembly elections, thus retaining power in the state. However, following disagreement over the chief minister's post, the two went their separate ways. While the Sena formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) with the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress, the BJP was left as the single-largest party in the state assembly.