Would ensure next Maharashtra CM is from our party: Shiv Sena
Mumbai: The Shiv Sena, which is an ally of the BJP-led Maharashtra government, has said the next chief minister of the state will be from Uddhav Thackeray's party.
The Sena made the claim in its mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Wednesday, the day when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis attended its foundation day function here.
It said even though it has a tie-up with the BJP, the "Shiv Sena is an independent political entity".
"We have to resolve to turn the next Vidhan Sabha 'saffron' and ensure that a Shiv Sena chief minister will be seated on the dais at the party's 54th foundation day next year," the Marathi daily said.
Taking stock of its 53-year-old history, the publication said the Shiv Sena's soul is its 'movement' - be it for Hindu pride, Marathi "asmita" (identity) or rights of sons of the soil.
Terming Thackeray as his "elder brother", Fadnavis during the function on Wednesday said the BJP-Sena alliance will have a thumping victory in the coming state Assembly polls, and that the issue of who will become chief minister and who will become deputy chief minister was secondary.
Last week, when state Finance Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar's claimed that the next chief minister would be from the BJP, Yuva Sena secretary Varun Sardesai said the post will be rotated between the two allies.
Indicating that the Sena would drive a hard bargain before agreeing for an electoral tie-up, Sardesai claimed both the parties will share the chief minister's post for 2.5 years each.
Sardesai, a cousin of Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray, also tweeted that BJP president Amit Shah had "approved" the decision to have rotational chief ministership between the saffron outfits.
Another Sena leader earlier said Fadnavis declared on February 19 that both the parties would share "responsibilities" and also the number of seats for the Vidhan Sabha polls.
Interestingly, senior Sena leader Sanjay Raut said in February that the next chief minister of Maharashtra would be from his party.
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Rahul Gandhi expresses displeasure with Siddaramaiah over honey trap controversy: Report
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has reportedly expressed his unhappiness with Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over his handling of the alleged honey trap controversy.
According to a report in Deccan Herald, when Siddaramaiah met Rahul in New Delhi this week, the Congress leader conveyed his displeasure over the matter being raised in the Assembly. Gandhi is said to have told the Chief Minister that the issue should not have been brought up on the Assembly floor, as discussions in the House are on record and can cause embarrassment to the party.
Sources cited by DH reveal that Rahul Gandhi advised Siddaramaiah to have handled the situation more diplomatically to avoid making it a subject of public discourse. However, the CM reportedly defended his actions, clarifying that Co-operation Minister K.N. Rajanna had not raised the matter in the Assembly on his own. Siddaramaiah explained that when two BJP members brought up the issue and mentioned Rajanna's name, the minister was simply providing a clarification, and it was not an intentional move to drag the issue into the legislative proceedings.
The controversy had also reached Congress President Mallikarjuna Kharge, who, during a meeting with Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru, conveyed that party leaders in Delhi were not pleased with the issue being debated in the floor of the House. Despite these developments, Siddaramaiah refused to comment on his discussions with Rahul Gandhi.
