Devendra Fadnavis finalised as Chief Minister, claims senior BJP leader: Report

A senior BJP leader on Sunday claimed that Devendra Fadnavis is going to return as Maharashtra Chief Minister after his name is finalised as the legislature party leader in a meeting scheduled for December 2 or 3, as the mystery around government formation deepens by the day.
“The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The meeting to elect the new BJP legislature party leader will be held on either December 2 or 3,” a senior BJP leader was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
Earlier in the day, caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that he would fully support the decision taken by PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah with regard to the chief minister’s name.
Speculations are doing rounds that Eknath Shinde’s son Shrikant Shinde might be given the deputy chief minister’s post with the Shiv Sena likely to stake claim on the Home portfolio. It was also said that a final decision on portfolios will be taken after a consensus is reached by all Mahayuti partners- BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde) and NCP (Ajit Pawar).
On Sunday afternoon, reports claimed that after over a week since the election results were declared, the BJP has finalised who will be the chief minister of Maharashtra, with an announcement soon to come.
BJP leader Raosaheb Danve stated on Sunday that the name of Maharashtra’s new chief minister has been finalised, but confirmation is awaited from the senior party leadership. Devendra Fadnavis is widely regarded as the frontrunner.
“The people of Maharashtra know who will be the next Chief Minister,” Danve said, without revealing the name.
Despite Shinde apparently giving up his claim to the top post, indications of a disagreement emerged when a meeting of the Mahayuti allies was postponed on Friday, after which the Shiv Sena leader left for his village. Discussions between Mahayuti leaders are now likely to take place on Monday.
The Mahayuti allies have already named their legislature party leaders — Eknath Shinde for Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar for NCP. However, the BJP, the largest constituent of the alliance, has yet to name its legislature party leader.
Meanwhile, NCP chief Ajit Pawar confirmed on Saturday that the Chief Minister will be from the BJP, with deputy chief ministers from both the NCP and Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leaders have indicated they will wait for the BJP to declare its chief ministerial candidate before outlining their next steps.
After over a week of Maharashtra election results having been announced, the deadlock over the official announcement of the Chief Minister’s name is still going on.
Taking potshots at the winning alliance in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Sunday claimed the Mahayuti’s inability to decide on a Chief Minister and form government more than a week after the announcement of Assembly poll results was an “insult” to the state.
Thackeray claimed that to declare the swearing-in date unilaterally without even staking claim to form government is “pure anarchy”.
The oath-taking ceremony of the new chief minister is scheduled to take place at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan on December 5, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi also attending it.
The Mahayuti alliance registered a landslide victory in the Maharashtra elections, winning 230 of the 288 seats, with the BJP emerging as the single largest party with 132 seats. Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 57 seats, while the Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP settled for 41 seats.