A senior BJP leader on Sunday said that Devendra Fadnavis' name has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra, PTI reported.
The senior leader said that the meeting to elect the new BJP legislature party leader will be held either on December 2 or 3.
The statement came hours after caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde reiterated his "unconditional support" to the decision that will be made by the saffron party's top brass - Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and party president JP Nadda.
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"The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. The meeting to elect the new BJP legislature party leader will be held on either December 2 or 3," the senior BJP leader told PTI.
Earlier, Shinde also addressed the speculations that his son Shrikant Shinde might get the deputy CM post and that his party is interested in the home ministry portfolio.
The Shiv Sena chief said that the Mahayuti allies will decide the government formation through consensus. The NDA grouping comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
{{/usCountry}}The Shiv Sena chief said that the Mahayuti allies will decide the government formation through consensus. The NDA grouping comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shinde's Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party.
{{/usCountry}}Shinde also said that the Maharashtra CM candidate will be decided tomorrow, on Monday, December 2.
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The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a massive victory in the recently concluded Maharashtra assembly polls, bagging 230 of the 288 seats in the state. Of these, the BJP won 132, Shiv Sena secured 57 and NCP bagged 41 seats.
The oath-taking ceremony of the NDA government in the state will take place on December 5 at the Azad Maidan, in the presence of PM Modi, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule had said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, despite Eknath Shinde's call for the alliance's unity, some leaders have opined otherwise. Earlier on Sunday, Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil had said that his party could have secured 90-100 seats in the state polls if Pawar's NCP had not joined the Mahayuti alliance.
A similar opinion was also given by former Union minister and BJP leader Raosaheb Danve, who said that if the undivided Sena and BJP had fought the elections together, then they would have secured more seats.
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The BJP legislature party meeting to elect the leader, who will also be the party's CM pick, is yet to be held. Though both Shiv Sena and NCP have elected Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as their legislature party leaders, respectively.
Notably, both Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis' names have been at the front of the debate on who will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra.
(with PTI inputs)