Sena talks tough: 'Shinde won't accept Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister's Post'

Amid ongoing uncertainty over the appointment of a new Maharashtra Chief Minister, the Shiv Sena has firmly stated that Eknath Shinde will not accept the role of Deputy Chief Minister. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat emphasised that the ruling Mahayuti's sweeping victory in the state elections was largely due to Shinde's leadership. "The Assembly elections were fought in the name of Eknath Shinde. He deserves to return as the Chief Minister. He will not accept the position of Deputy Chief Minister," Shirsat told India Today TV.

Shirsat said if the BJP fulfills their demand to reinstate Shinde as Chief Minister, it would send a positive message to the public, benefiting the alliance in future elections. "Future elections will prove to be beneficial for us if Shinde is the Chief Minister," he said.

The Mahayuti, consisting of the Shinde Sena, BJP, and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, retained power in Maharashtra with a strong performance, winning 230 out of 288 Assembly seats. The BJP secured 132 seats, the highest in the alliance followed by Shiv Sena 57, and NCP 41. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) could manage to win only 46 seats, with the Shiv Sena (UBT) taking 20, Congress 10, and the Sharad Pawar-led NCP 10.

BJP's central leadership has picked Devendra Fadnavis to become Chief Minister. Ajit Pawar's NCP has also backed Fadnavis for the chief minister's post.

Union Minister Ram Athawale has also suggested that Shinde could move to the Centre while Fadnavis should assume the Chief Minister’s position. However, Sena leader Shirsat dismissed the idea. "We do not take him (Athawale) seriously. He is a Union Minister. Let him do the politics at the Centre. Leave the politics of Maharashtra to us.” 

Sources close to Shinde Sena revealed that the party was promised the Chief Ministerial post if Mahayuti secured a majority in the Assembly elections. "In a series of meetings with top BJP leaders, it was decided that the party would contest the maximum number of seats, but irrespective of the seat allocation, Shinde would continue to be Chief Minister if the coalition secured a majority," sources said.

BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar also weighed in on the issue, stating, “We have a clear majority. We are taking time to formulate the plan in detail. This is not the first time that a government formation is taking time. In Karnataka, the Congress also took time to name a Chief Minister.” He added that the final decision rests with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Earlier this week, Shinde Sena MP Naresh Mhaske urged the BJP to follow the 'Bihar model' by making Shinde Chief Minister, similar to how Nitish Kumar was made Chief Minister of Bihar despite his party not having the majority. "Nitish Kumar was made the Chief Minister of Bihar even though his party didn’t have the majority," Mhaske pointed out.