The newly elected BJP MLAs will meet here on Tuesday to elect their Legislative Party leader, the Chief Minister designate of Maharashtra.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Rajya Sabha MP J.P Nadda, party central observers, will oversee the election process.
BJP State chief Devendra Fadnavis is the clear front-runner for the post but the party has not yet made a formal decision on it.
This has opened up channels for power play and lobbying within the party till the eve of the election.
Though the pitch for the other contenders--Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde, Sudhir Mungantiwar—has fizzled out after the results, a certain amount of lobbying still persists for senior leader Eknath Khade, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly.
Though Mr. Khadse says he will take up any responsibility given to him by the party, he has remarked that voters want a CM from Khandesh (North Maharashtra), where he has reasonable clout, as the region was not well-represented. Insiders say that Mr. Khadse is strongly pitching that his “experience” would take him through.
Among all the top aspirants, he is said to command the loyalty of most party MLAs. Despite a show of strength by Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari’s camp in Nagpur, which comprised of 40 MLAs from Vidarbha, observers give him only an outside chance.
If the decision to elect the CM is left to the BJPs MLAs, observers say, Mr. Fadnavis’ stakes could fall and all possibilities would open up.
The BJP which emerged as the single largest party in the elections with 122 seats is in a position to form a minority government with the support of independents even. Party leaders are absolutely clear that Sena is welcome on board but with no strings attached. The mood in the BJP is opposed to any tie-ups with the Sena.
Party strategists say by not openly snubbing its estranged ally, the BJP was trying to not distance itself from the voter constituency of the Shiv Sena. A BJP leader from Konkan, where the Sena is still the dominant force, said he hoped the party would dump the Sena for good. “Though we are not in a position to sweep the region, after some development work is done by the government, the mood should swing in our favour. This will give us long term benefits,” he said.
