The BJP on Monday staked claim to the prize post of Maharashtra chief minister for Devendra Fadnavis while offering allies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar the chance to be his deputies, sources said.
Shinde, the incumbent chief minister, has been holding out and arguing for “continuity” but might have to give in since the numbers are stacked in the BJP’s favour, the sources added.
The BJP has won 132 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly compared to the 57 picked up by Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction and 41 by Ajit’s NCP.
The BJP communicated its decision to Shinde on Monday but with the Sena leader standing his ground, further negotiation and bargaining could be necessary, the sources said.
Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit were likely to fly to Delhi on Monday night to meet Union home minister Amit Shah.
“It has been communicated to Eknath Shindeji that Devendra Fadnavis deserves to take over as chief minister. Shindeji is resisting — and this is natural — but we are hopeful that all the issues will be sorted out,” a BJP leader in Mumbai said.
Ajit has strengthened the BJP’s case by throwing his weight behind Fadnavis. Ajit, who has broken away from his uncle and NCP founder Sharad Pawar, fears that Shinde’s possible emergence as a tall Maratha leader could eclipse his stature and hurt his political career.
Ajit’s support is enough to give the BJP a comfortable majority, weakening Shinde’s bargaining power.
BJP insiders, however, said the party was committed to the “coalition dharma” and would compensate Shinde and his party with key portfolios in the new government.
“Fadnavis, who had a much bigger stature than Shinde, had agreed to be his deputy in deference to coalition dharma. Now Shinde should show the same large-heartedness,” a BJP parliamentarian from Maharashtra said.
Sena MPs in Delhi, however, claimed that no meeting had yet been held among the Mahayuti partners to pick a chief minister.
“Amit Shah had announced that a meeting of the Mahayuti leaders would be held after the poll results to decide the chief minister. No such meeting has been convened so far, and whatever is being said in the media is just rumours,” one of Shinde’s MPs said.
Shinde has told the BJP that removing him as chief minister would give Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena faction the “space to grow”, allowing it to accuse the BJP of using the Sena’s name and symbol to come to power and then dump it.
“If Shindeji is allowed to continue at least till the Mumbai municipal elections, it will show the BJP’s benevolence and its commitment to respecting Marathi pride, which is an emotional issue,” a Sena MP said.
Shinde has also highlighted before the BJP leadership how his hard work helped turn the tide for the Mahayuti after Lok Sabha poll reverses, sources said.
He has underscored the deftness with which he countered the Maratha anger over reservations, and the role his Ladki Bahin cash dole scheme played in the ruling alliance’s landslide victory.