Amid the ongoing tussle with the Shiv Sena over power-sharing, the BJP on Wednesday re-elected Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis as leader of the party in the Maharashtra Assembly.
All 105 newly elected legislators of the party supported the proposal recommending Mr. Fadnavis’ name as Chief Minister in the presence of central observers, Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and party vice-president Avinash Khanna, at Vidhan Bhawan in south Mumbai.
Senior BJP leaders announced that a BJP-Shiv Sena government would be in place in the next seven days.
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But the party played down speculation on back-channel talks beginning with an offer of 13 Ministries and the post of Deputy Chief Minister to the Shiv Sena and 26 Ministries to the BJP.
Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sena president Uddhav Thackeray and BJP president Amit Shah, Mr. Fadnavis said the mandate in the election was for the saffron alliance, and the BJP and the Shiv Sena would form a government soon.
“This is a huge win considering that since 1995, no party has held 75 seats. But in 2014 and 2019, the BJP won more than 100 seats each time. We sought votes for the saffron alliance and a government will be formed by the BJP-Sena. When a government is re elected, it has greater responsibility to perform. This term we want to help the farmers who have suffered due to rains and next few years we will save and accumulate water to divert it in affected areas,” said Mr Fadnavis.
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“Over the past year, the government has tried hard to fulfil hopes and expectations of every section of the society,” he added.
The proposal suggesting the name of Mr. Fadnavis was tabled by State president Chandrakant Patil. The proposal was first supported by 12 leaders including Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ashish Shelar, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Ganesh Naik, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Sanjay Kute, Suresh Khade among others.
Following the elections, the leaders of smaller alliance partners said a government in the State would be in place next few days, while BJP president Amit Shah is likely to arrive in the city anytime this week to start talks with Sena.
“It makes sense for the Shiv Sena to bargain for more cabinet berths in the State and centre along with the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Ultimately, the two (BJP-Sena) have to come together to form the government,” said Republican Party of India (RPI) chief and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale. “The Sena must make some compromises,” he said.
National President of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha Mahadev Jankar, also an alliance parter, said the Government would be in place in Maharashtra within the next seven days. “The saffron alliance has the number and will install a government within the next seven days in Maharashtra,” he said.