The Mahayuti is poised to return to power in Maharashtra, with the alliance comfortably crossing the halfway mark in the 288-member Assembly. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which contested 149 seats, is winning over 100 seats itself.
Its Mahayuti partners – Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar-headed Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) – have also put on a good show. The big question that now arises is: Who will be the chief minister of Maharashtra?
While the Mahayuti and its rival, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), had not projected a CM face before the Maharashtra Assembly elections, it is now time for the BJP-led alliance to pick its candidate for the top post.
With multiple contenders, it would not be an easy feat.
Let’s take a look.
Maharashtra Assembly election results
The BJP has won five seats and is leading in 124 seats, as per the Election Commission of India (ECI) trends at 2.20 pm.
Shinde’s Sena has bagged three seats and is ahead in another 53, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP has clinched two and is leading in 37 seats.
The Mahayuti currently seems to be winning 224 of the 288 Assembly seats, easily surpassing the 145-seat majority mark in the Assembly.
The MVA, comprising the Congress, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) or Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar) or NCP (SP), is staring at a humiliating defeat. The Congress is ahead in 20 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) is leading in19 seats and the NCP (SP) has got one and has an edge in 11 seats, as per the latest EC trends.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Samajwadi Party (SP) are leading in two seats each.
Two Independents are also likely to win. Some smaller parties are leading in one seat each.
A big turnaround for Mahayuti
The Maharashtra Assembly election results have come as a shot in the arm for the Mahayuti.
Just a few months back, the BJP-led grouping had delivered a dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The saffron party bagged only nine of the 48 Lok Sabha seats in Maharashtra, while its allies Shiv Sena and NCP were victorious in seven and one seats, respectively.
In a spectacular performance, the INDIA bloc had clinched 30 out of 48 Lok Sabha seats.
Now, the tables have turned and how.
The
Mahayuti is set for a comeback in Maharashtra, while the MVA has suffered a stunning rout. The Congress, which lost Haryana earlier, will be subjected to intense scrutiny. Riding high on the Lok Sabha show, the Congress had bargained hard during seat-sharing talks for the Assembly polls.
While the Grand Old Party fielded 101 candidates, Shiv Sena (UBT) gave tickets to 95 candidates and NCP (SP) to 86.
The Congress could face the ire of its alliance partners, besides attacks from the ruling BJP.
For Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar, the setback comes after splits in their parties. Do the Assembly results mean that voters have answered the question of ‘real’ Shiv Sena and NCP?
It looks like that.
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Who will be Mahayuti’s CM?
It is a celebratory time for the Mahayuti. The alliance has stormed back to power in a crucial state. It has to now decide who will be the next Maharashtra Chief Minister.
With the BJP set to emerge as the largest party in the Assembly, it has a strong claim to the CM post. As the results trickle in, saffron party leaders have started batting for
Devendra Fadnavis’ return to the top post.
Fadnavis served as the Maharashtra CM between 2014 and 2019. Ahead of the 2019 Assembly results, the BJP, which was in alliance with the then undivided Shiv Sena of Uddhav Thackeray, had fought the polls with him as the CM face.
The saffron party had emerged as the single-largest party with 105 seats, while the undivided Sena got 56 seats. Complications cropped up due to differences over the CM post, with Thackeray claiming an understanding with the BJP over the rotational chief ministership. The claim was denied by the saffron party.
Amid the dispute, the undivided Sena joined hands with the Congress and the then undivided NCP led by Sharad Pawar to form the MVA government. Uddhav Thackeray became the CM of the coalition government but remained in the post for only two-and-a-half years as Shinde rebelled and split the Shiv Sena.
Shinde, along with 41 of the 56 Sena MLAs, forged an alliance with the BJP, forming the government in Maharashtra.
Fadnavis was seen as the mastermind behind Shinde’s rebellion. It was a surprise when he had to step aside to make way for Shinde to become the Maharashtra CM. While the BJP leader wanted to stay away from the government, the party’s top leadership reportedly persuaded him to join Shinde’s government and Fadnavis had to take the role of his deputy.
After the
Lok Sabha poll debacle in June, the BJP leader had offered to resign as Deputy CM but his request was denied.
Now, Fadnavis is among the frontrunners for the Maharashtra CM post.
BJP MLC Pravin Darekar has backed him as the next chief minister. “Based on the current trends, I believe that the BJP will be the single largest party and Devendra Fadnavis should become the chief minister. The election was contested under his leadership, and he called for a ‘dharma yuddha’ in these Assembly polls,” he told reporters earlier.
When asked about the incumbent CM Shinde, Darekar replied, “As part of the alliance, the party that secures the most seats will be entitled to the post of Chief Minister.”
Voices from Shiv Sena are calling for Shinde’s return to the top post, crediting his government’s welfare policies for Mahayuti’s remarkable comeback.
Shiv Sena Lok Sabha MP and Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde said, “The Ladki Bahin Yojana did the magic. Sisters stood strongly behind their brothers. People have shown who is taking Balasaheb’s [Thackeray] ideals forward.” He said the state has “endorsed” CM Shinde’s work.
Thanking the voters, Eknath Shinde said “no decision” has been taken yet on the CM pick, adding that three partners will “sit together” to take a call.
He, along with Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, will interact with the media at Shinde’s official residence Varsha at 3 pm.
Ajit Pawar’s party is hoping he will be the next CM. Ahead of the results, his party leader had put up a poster in Pune depicting him as the CM, which was taken down later.
Rajya Sabha MP and Ajit Pawar’s wife Sunetra Pawar thanked the people of Baramati for giving the mandate in favour of her husband. She also proposed his name for the CM post, saying she desires him to be the CM, just like the public.
During the campaigning, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said that the three partners will sit together to decide the next CM. However, he also mentioned earlier that the people wanted the “return of the Mahayuti and Fadnavis”.
There is growing support for Fadnavis to take over as the CM, with many leaders of his party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) believing he was made to “sacrifice” the CM’s post in 2022 to make way for Shinde, noted Indian Express. This time, things could be different, given the BJP’s best strike rate among other Mahayuti allies.
But will Shinde and Pawar listen and compromise over the CM post? Or is the BJP staring at another 2019? Only time has all the answers.
With inputs from agencies