“It is a big heart for Fadnavis to leave the post of Chief Minister for one of Balasaheb’s Shiv Sainiks, however. BJP 120 MLAs have the support,” said Shinde, who claims the support of 50 MLAs. He said it was a “historic moment” and was not motivated by positions or ambition. “We will take Balasaheb” Hindutva ahead. There was a delay in taking decisions on such issues in the MVA government,” he said. The alliance also has the support of 16 smaller parties and independent legislators.
The BJP’s decision to drop the top post was intended to shake its image as a power-craving party after its short-lived fiasco in 2019, when Fadnavis joined hands with NCP’s Ajit Pawar. Maybe she also wants to deny the allegation that a Chief Minister Shiv Sena He was undefeated in the rebellion to be replaced by one in the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Moreover, Shinde’s as chief minister is a blow to the Shiv Sena’s morale ahead of the municipal elections in its stronghold Mumbai this year.
This move of BJP is also in line with the pattern adopted in Bihar. It gave Nitish Kumar the top post in 2020, though he had more seats than JDU.
Hailing from the Maratha community, Shinde was once a rickshaw puller who rose within the ranks of Shiv Sena to become a four-time MLA and cabinet minister in 2014 and 2019. His first challenge now would be to balance the aspirations of the legislators who joined his rebellion in terms of cabinet berths. “There are many ministers or powerful MLAs joining me. I am just a humble party worker,” he said. He also said that when 50 MLAs leave a party, it is time to introspect.
In his press conference with Shinde in the afternoon, Fadnavis had said that he would personally stay out of the government, although the BJP would be part of the cabinet. “We are not motivated by the chief minister’s post. It is a fight for principles, Hindutva and way of thinking,” Fadnavis said. Though he will stay out of it, Fadnavis said, “I will ensure that the government functions properly.”
But less than two hours later, BJP national president JP Nadda tweeted, “BJP central leadership has decided that Devendra Fadnavis should be part of the government. So, made a personal request to him and the central leadership has said that Devendra Fadnavis should take over as the Deputy CM of Maharashtra. Soon after, Union Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted, “Following JP Nadda’s request, Devendra Fadnavis showed his heart and agreed to be part of the government for the benefit of the state government and the public.”
Fadnavis replied to Shah by tweeting, “As a genuine party worker, I follow the orders of the party. The party whose orders took me to the highest position is above all.
The Shinde faction will now focus on getting the chief whip of its legislature party recognized after the election of the Speaker. Earlier, deputy speaker Narhari Jirwal had recognized the leader of the Shiv Sena group led by Uddhav, who had replaced Shinde and his chief whip.
“We control the legislature party as two-thirds of the MLAs are with us. This means the 16 MLAs who are with Shiv Sena will have to vote according to our whip,” rebel MLA Deepak Kesarkar said. If he succeeds in getting his whip recognized, it could mean Shiv Sena MLAs who vote against his whip, risk disqualification. A petition on the disqualification of 16 rebel MLAs by Jirwal is pending in the Supreme Court. BJP sources said that now the fight will be before the Election Commission to capture the name and symbol of the Shiv Sena party.
The first assembly session of the new government will be held on July 2 and 3, when a new speaker of the state assembly will be elected and the confidence motion will be considered. The post of the Speaker has been lying vacant since Nana Patole resigned more than a year ago.