Mumbai: For neither of the major political groupings in Maharashtra – currently better known as the Mahayuti and Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) -- is the coveted chair of the chief minister a topic up for debate. Though the BJP has said the upcoming elections to the state assembly will be fought under Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s leadership, it refuses to clarify whether he will be retained as the CM.
NCP (SP) Chief Sharad Pawar On Declaring CM Face Ahead Of State Assembly Elections
In the MVA, the curtains seem to have been drawn on the subject with the NCP SP chief Sharad Pawar reiterating that there was no need for the MVA to declare a CM face ahead of the state assembly elections. Pawar clarified his stand on Wednesday while talking to the media in Kolhapur.
The decision on who will be the CM could be taken after the poll results said the architect of the MVA. Further, he said, the chief ministerial candidate will be decided on the basis of which party in the alliance wins the most number of seats.
Congress Party Endorses Sharad Pawar's Views
Congress was quick to endorse Pawar’s views. Its state unit chief Nana Patole held that Pawar had said nothing wrong.
“We will go ahead as the MVA and the CM will be decided on the basis of the seats won by the constituent parties,” former CM Prithviraj Chavan had said while speaking at FPJ Dialogue a few days ago.
He said, the Congress never announces the CM candidate, especially when the party is in opposition. But on his part, Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray was making all-out efforts for an announcement on the CM candidate.
About The Shiv Sena Office-Bearers' Meeting That Took Place In Shanmukhananda Hall
During the Shiv Sena office-bearers’ meeting at the Shanmukhananda Hall last month, Thackeray had urged his allies to announce the CM face and he would offer his support.
“I do not believe in the formula of CM’s post going in favour of a party which has the maximum MLAs after elections,” he had said, cautioning that it led to parties defeating each other’s candidates. Thackeray’s video recording of a Delhi tour in the second week of August was aimed at seeking the endorsement of his name by the Congress and allies of the INDIA front.
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Despite meetings with the brass of all the alliance partners, including Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi, and others, he received no positive response. There is a similar situation in the Mahayuti too. There is no clarity on the issue of the CM face. Though the BJP had said that the assembly elections will be fought under Shinde’s leadership, there is no word on his continuation as the CM. With no prominent leader from the BJP or NCP Ajit Pawar coming forward, the Shinde-led Sena is trying its best to project him as the leader to reckon with.
In the BJP, talk is gaining ground that the RSS cadre has swung into action, to work out of the box for the party’s performance. A series of meetings with RSS brass by Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis may be the basis for such talk. The BJP, it seems, wants the RSS to leverage its groundwork to bolster its prospects, in view of its miserable show in the Lok Sabha elections.
In all, the confusion over who will be the next CM of Maharashtra may continue till the elections are over. Pawar wants MVA to finish seat-sharing talks NCP chief Sharad Pawar has said he would want the MVA to complete the seat-sharing process and start its poll campaign at the earliest. MVA leaders should sit for talks beginning September 7, said Pawar, adding, that he expected the election process to be completed by the second week of November.
Talks among the MVA, comprising the Shiv Sena UBT, NCP SP, and Congress, should include the Peasants and Workers Party, CPI, and CPM as well, Pawar said. These parties have some pockets of influence in the state and they had helped the MVA in the Lok Sabha elections, he said.
