Who will be next Maharashtra CM? Eknath Shinde says PM Modi’s decision final

Amid suspense on who will be the next Maharashtra chief minister, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said that he will accept Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision on the Mahayuti alliance’s CM choice.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai, Eknath Shinde called PM Modi the head of the family. He said the BJP leadership mustn’t consider him an obstacle in government formation.

“I have told the Prime Minister that if there is any problem in forming the government in Maharashtra because of me, then do not bring any doubt in your mind and whatever decision you take, that decision is acceptable to me. You are the head of our family,” he said.

“I told PM Modi, and Amit Shah, that they should not look at me as an obstacle. I will stand by any decision that is taken by them,” he added.

Eknath Shinde further said his party will support whatever decision the BJP leadership takes regarding the coveted post.

He said he told PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Tuesday that their decision would be binding on him and Shiv Sena.

Shinde said he had worked as a common man and never considered himself the chief minister.

“I had always decided that when I am in a position of power, I will give it back to the public…Because I came from a poor family, I could understand the pain and hardships of the people of the state,” he said.

He said as a CM, he tried to take forward the ideals of Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and PM Modi.

“I am very satisfied with all the work I have done in the last 2.5 years. I am not the kind who gets upset, we are the kind of people who fight, fight for the people,” he said.

“All the work I do, I will do for the people of Maharashtra. What is important is not what I get, but what the people of the state get,” he added.

Eknath Shinde is expected to leave for Delhi later today. A meeting of all Mahayuti allies with PM Modi and Shah is also on the cards.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, meanwhile, thanked Eknath Shinde for his stand on the CM post.

“He has always respected and obeyed our central leadership. He followed every instruction by the central leadership of the BJP. He has acted as a true Mahayuti leader. We thank and congratulate him for it,” he said.

Shinde’s press conference came amid reports of intense negotiations within the Mahayuti alliance on who would take the top political post in Maharashtra.

Shiv Sena had demanded the post citing the BJP-led NDA’s arrangement in Bihar, where Nitish Kumar is the chief minister despite being the minor partner in the coalition.

The BJP, however, said that the Bihar formula won’t apply to Maharashtra.

“The announcement to make Nitish Kumar CM was made before the election. In Maharashtra, there was no such commitment made to the Shiv Sena…Hence there is no question of replicating the same in Maharashtra,” BJP national spokesperson Prem Shukla told HT.

In the 2024 Maharashtra assembly election, the Mahayuti coalition won 230 out of 288 seats. The BJP secured highest 132 seats, making Fadnavis the favourite for the CM’s post.

Eknath Shinde became the chief minister of Maharashtra in 2022, after engineering a vertical split in Shiv Sena and joining hands with the BJP. He resigned yesterday.