The next chief minister of Maharashtra could be from the BJP, MNS chief Raj Thackeray said on Wednesday. He said Devender Fadnavis could be the next chief minister. Fadnavis served as chief minister from 2014 to 2019. He was, however, denied the chance to become the chief minister again in 2019 when the NDA returned to power but Uddhav Thackeray quit the alliance to form the government with Congress and Sharad Pawar's NCP.
After the split in Shiv Sena, the BJP returned to power but offered the top post to Eknath Shinde's faction. This time, the Mahayuti has not announced who will be the next chief minister if it returns to power again. The BJP is contesting on the highest 148 seats, while Shinde Sena is fighting on 80 and NCP on 52.
There is a buzz that the pre-poll alliance may see some changes after results as Ajit Pawar in Mahayuti and Uddhav Thackeray in the opposition MVA may push for the chief minister's post if they get respectable seats. Ajit Pawar has, on many ocassions, expressed his desire for the top post and there are speculations that he may explore options if such a situation arises.
On Wednesday, NCP's Nawab Malik dropped a big hint when he said Ajit Pawar would play a key role in the government in case the result gives rise to a hung assembly. "It will be a tough election in Maharashtra. It is a neck-to-neck fight and nobody can say that without Ajit Pawar, there would be a government. Ajit Pawar will play a key role. He can dictate his condition as well," he said.
"Before the 2019 election, nobody had predicted what kind of government would come to power in Maharashtra. Anything can happen. Nobody is an enemy forever. Nobody is a friend forever. Things are changing. We have seen it in 2019," he said. Malik said independent players can play a role in the event of a hung assembly. "It will be a neck-to-neck fight and we have to accept it."
Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) is contesting alone in the state. MNS had backed the Mahayuti in the Lok Sabha polls. In the assembly polls, the party is contesting 138 assembly seats. Raj Thackeray's son Amit Thackeray is contesting from Mahim, and BJP wants to back MNS despite a candidate from Shinde's Shiv Sena.
Speaking on the split of NCP and Shiv Sena, Raj Thackeray said a party only breaks when it is weakened from within. The NCP and Shiv Sena were broken because they were already weakened, he said. "They were weak, attempts were made to split them, and they broke. If there is internal unity, no amount of effort could break a party."
Comentarios