Who Will Be The Next Maharashtra Chief Minister? Decision Likely To Be Taken Today As Top Mahayuti Leaders Set To Meet Amit Shah

Top Mahayuti alliance leaders—BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde, and NCP’s Ajit Pawar—are set to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi today (27 November) amid ongoing uncertainty over Maharashtra’s Chief Ministerial post.

Shinde, the caretaker Maharashtra Chief Minister, will reach Delhi at 4 pm and the meeting between Amit Shah and Mahayuti leaders will take place at 5.30 pm, India Today reported citing sources.

The decision on the next Maharashtra CM is likely to be taken during the meeting.

The Mahayuti alliance achieved a landslide victory in the recently held Maharashtra Assembly elections, securing 230 of the 288 seats.

The BJP bagged 132 seats, its highest-ever tally, while Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

However, five days after the result, the allies remain locked in a stalemate over the Chief Ministerial post.

Although, it is widely speculated that Fadnavis may lead the state, given the BJP’s dominant seat count.

Ajit Pawar hinted that the new Chief Minister could take the oath on 30 November or 1 December.

"There will be two deputy chief ministers in the new government," he said.

Several Mahayuti leaders have been shuttling between Mumbai and Delhi for discussions with the BJP leadership.

On Wednesday night, BJP leader Vinod Tawde met Amit Shah for around 40 minutes to deliberate on forming the Maharashtra government.

The BJP’s central leadership is reportedly cautious about potential backlash from the Maratha community if Devendra Fadnavis, a non-Maratha, is named Chief Minister.

Deliberations reportedly focused on strategies to secure Maratha votes if Fadnavis assumes the Chief Minister’s role.

On Wednesday, Eknath Shinde, who resigned as Chief Minister on Tuesday but remains the caretaker CM, stated that he left the decision to decide the next Maharashtra Chief Minister to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP leadership.

"I have told PM Modi that I would not be an obstacle. We will go with whatever he decides," Shinde said at a press conference in Thane.

Shinde added that he had conveyed his full support to PM Modi in facilitating the formation of the Maharashtra government.

Shinde’s remarks came amidst calls from Shiv Sena leaders for him to continue as Chief Minister, citing the alliance’s landslide victory under his leadership.

Dismissing rumours of dissatisfaction over missing a second term, Shinde remarked, “Nobody is annoyed. We have worked as Mahayuti.”

"There is a meeting in Delhi tomorrow (on Thursday) with Amit bhai (Shah) and all related decisions will be taken there," Shinde said.

He added that the modalities of forming the new government will be finalised in the meeting at Delhi.

The announcement

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