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Eknath Shinde cancels appointments, heads to his native village as suspense over Maharashtra CM post continues
The Maharashtra assembly election results were declared on Nov 23, but the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has yet to finalise its choice for the top post.
Amid suspense over the Mahayuti alliance's CM pick, Maharashtra caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde cancelled his appointments on Friday, Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande confirmed.
Sources in the party told HT that Eknath Shinde is travelling to his native village in Satara district.
The development comes a day after leaders of the three political parties in the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance – Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde, BJP's Devendra Fadnavis and NCP's Ajit Pawar – met Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in Delhi to discuss the power-sharing arrangement in the state.
Shah also discussed the crucial formula for Cabinet berths to be distributed among the three parties in the coalition, which is expected to be sworn in early next week.
While the BJP will get the chief minister’s post, Shah is believed to have given the nod for two deputy chief ministers, one from each ally, the Shiv Sena and the NCP.
Shinde, after the meeting, described the deliberations with Amit Shah and JP Nadda as “good and positive.”
Shinde also asserted that the final name for the chief minister's position would likely be decided in a later meeting.
"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. We discussed with Amit Shah and JP Nadda...There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti. In this meeting, a decision will be taken about who will be the Chief Minister. The meeting will be held in Mumbai," Eknath Shinde told reporters after the meeting.
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Maharashtra elections
The Maharashtra Assembly election results were declared on November 23, but the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance has yet to finalise its choice for Chief Minister.
The BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats in the 280-member Maharashtra Assembly, while its allies--the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, and the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar--won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
