Despite Shinde publicly announcing his support for the BJP’s decision, the leadership issue remains a source of tension within the alliance, as the final decision is yet to be made.
Suspense continues in Maharashtra as Mahayuti alliance is yet to name the state’s Chief minister. In spite of late-night deliberations in New Delhi on Thursday, the much-awaited announcement is yet to come. The leaders have said the decision is likely after a follow-up meeting in Mumbai.
Shinde had told reporters in New Delhi late Thursday night that the next meeting of the Mahayuti alliance on government formation would be held in Mumbai on Friday. However, the meeting has been called off and is now expected to take place on Sunday.
The highly anticipated meeting between the BJP national president J P Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah with key leaders from the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ended without conclusion. The meeting, which took place at Shah’s residence in New Delhi, lasted for over two hours and included crucial talks with caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, and other top leaders of Mahayuti.
The meeting began late evening and continued into the night with the leaders exiting around midnight. Shinde said that the discussions were “good and positive” and that a follow-up meeting would take place in Mumbai.
“The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. We had a discussion with Amit Shah and JP Nadda...There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti. In this meeting, a decision will be taken about who will be the Chief Minister. The meeting will be held in Mumbai....” news agency ANI quoted Eknath Shinde.
According to a report by The Hindu, the BJP now plans to convene a meeting of its newly-elected MLAs, and once the Legislature Party leader is appointed, another round of talks will take place among the Mahayuti leaders.
The Maharashtra Assembly elections saw the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance securing a decisive victory, winning 230 of the 288 seats. The BJP emerged as the dominant partner with 132 seats, while Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction secured 57 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP group won 41 seats. In contrast, the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major blow, with Congress securing only 16 seats, NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) winning 10 seats, and Uddhav Thackeray’s Shiv Sena (UBT) managing just 20 seats.