Unwell Eknath Shinde to Make Big Decision Today? CM Suspense Delays Maharashtra Govt Formation

CM Suspense Delays Maharashtra Govt Formation: Shiv Sena has rubbished the reports that its leader and caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is upset over the Maharashtra CM’s post impasse and hence has gone to his hometown and cancelled the Mahayuti meeting. The party said he was unwell and a meeting will take place on Saturday.

Talks on portfolio allocation and CM’s post have been further delayed as Shinde has gone to Satara after returning from Delhi where he met the BJP leadership including Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday.

Eknath Shinde had said the next alliance meeting on government formation would take place in Mumbai on Friday.

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“Tomorrow (Saturday), he will return, and it’s not as if meetings can only happen physically. It can also take place through video conferencing or mobile communication. As Eknath Shinde has said, the Maharashtra cabinet will be finalised soon,” Samant said on Friday.

BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance won 233 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, with BJP being the single largest party with a record 132 seats. Shiv Sena and NCP also improved their tally, winning 57 and 41 seats respectively. But even a week after the results, the alliance is yet to decide on the CM.

As per reports, Eknath Shinde is demanding heavyweight portfolios like Home Department along with the Deputy CM’s post, like Devendra Fadnavis who held the Home Ministry when he was Deputy CM.

Samant said, "All 60 MLAs together have conveyed this message to Shinde ji that we want him to become the Deputy Chief Minister. Eknath Shinde ji himself will make the decision."

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"It is important for him to remain in the government as he introduced the Ladli Behan Yojana. Therefore, his presence in the government is crucial. Once again, there will be a meeting between Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar, during which the cabinet expansion will be discussed in detail," he further added.

Earlier, Shiv Sena leader and Shinde’s close associate Sanjay Shirsat had hinted that Eknath Shinde might not accept the Deputy CM’s post.

According to sources, Eknath Shinde is willing to be the Convener of Mahayuti instead of accepting a second-in-command post in Mahayuti 2.0 government.

But BJP is sticking to its decision to make Devendra Fadnavis the CM. Shinde has been reiterating that he won’t be a hurdle in government formation and will follow the decisions of PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on CM’s post.

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