Shinde is not upset, says party colleague Samant as outgoing CM heads for his village
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant on Friday dismissed speculation that caretaker Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was upset and hence left for his native village in Satara district even as government formation has been delayed.
The Shiv Sena president was unwell when he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday night, he told reporters.
Shinde, who has made it clear that he would accept the decision of the BJP top brass on the next chief minister, should be part of the new government, added Samant, a minister in the previous Shinde-led cabinet.
A key meeting of the Mahayuti allies BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP was put off earlier on Friday as Shinde left for his village Dare, delaying the government formation a week after the Maharashtra assembly polls results.
Asked about the meeting between Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar that was supposed to take place in Mumbai, Samant said, "If the meeting does not take place physically, it can also be held through video conference."
"He (Shinde) is not upset. Even in Delhi, he was down with fever and cold. It will be wrong to say he has gone to Dare because he is upset," the Sena leader maintained.
"Anyone can face health issues, and if he has gone to a good place (for health reasons), there is no point in concluding that he is upset," Samant added.
Shinde himself stressed two days ago that there will be no obstacle from his side in the government formation, he said, adding that the BJP has said it will decide on its legislative wing leader in the next two days and after the formalities, the new government will be formed.
The Opposition should introspect on its performance in the elections rather than attacking the Mahayuti parties over government formation, he said.
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New govt in Maharashtra to be formed on Dec 5, Fadnavis frontrunner for CM post: BJP leader
Mumbai (PTI): Mahayuti alliance's new government in Maharashtra will be formed on December 5 with Devendra Fadnavis emerging as the frontrunner to become the next chief minister again, a senior BJP leader said on Saturday.
In the November 20 Maharashtra assembly polls, the Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) retained power, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The BJP emerged as the single largest party, winning 132 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 57 and NCP with 41 seats.
However, even after the announcement of poll results a week ago (on November 23), the formation of the government has been delayed as the tripartite alliance is yet to decide on who will be the next chief minister. Shinde, Fadnavis and Pawar met BJP president J P Nadda and Union minister Amit Shah late Thursday to discuss a power-sharing pact for the next government.
A key Mahayuti meeting scheduled on Friday was put off and likely to take place on Sunday now as caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde headed to his native village in Satara district, delaying government formation further.
The BJP leader, who did not wish to be quoted, said the swearing-in of the new government will take place on December 5.
Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, who was the chief minister twice and deputy chief minister in the last government, is the frontrunner for the top post, the leader said.
Another senior BJP leader said the chief minister's swearing-in ceremony will take place at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.
But before that, a meeting will be held on December 2 to pick the BJP legislature party leader, he said.
Caretaker CM Shinde has made it clear that he will fully support BJP leadership's decision to name the next CM, and that he won't be a hurdle in the process, while Ajit Pawar-led NCP has backed Fadnavis for the chief minister's post.
In the assembly elections, Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback. The grand old party registered one of its worst performances in the state assembly polls after it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP (SP) could bag only 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20.
