Amid cold war between BJP and Shiv Sena for chief minister's post, a Yuva Sena leader has said the post will be rotated between the Shiv Sena and the BJP after the state assembly elections are concluded.
The politically sensitive topic was raised by Sudhir Mungantiwar, a senior BJP leader, Monday when he told reporters that the next CM of Maharashtra will be from his party again. However, indicating that the Sena would drive a hard bargain before agreeing for an electoral tie-up, Yuva Sena secretary Varun Sardesai has claimed both the parties will share the CM's post for a duration of 2.5 years each.
Sardesai, a cousin of Yuva Sena chief Aditya Thackeray, tweeted that BJP president Amit Shah had "approved" the decision to have rotational chief ministership between the saffron outfits. "Shivsena Prez Uddhavsaheb and BJP Prez Amitji have decided that Maha CM post will be 2.5 years each. People who weren't present for negotiations, shouldn't spoil the alliance for their personal gains (sic)," he tweeted.
It seems the Sena has interpreted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis's recent statement, that both the allies would share all responsibilities and contest an equal number of Assembly seats, as an indication of rotational chief ministership. A senior Shiv Sena leader told the DNA, we are demanding that the 288 seats in the Assembly be split equally between us and the BJP. The BJP can set aside Assembly segments from their share for their smaller allies."
The Sena and the BJP had contested the 2014 assembly polls separately, but the Uddhav Thackeray-led party joined the government later. Of the total 288 seats, the BJP had won 122 and emerged as the single largest party. The Maharashtra-centric Sena, which ruled the state for four years in alliance with the BJP in the 1990s, came a distant second with 63 seats.