BJP appoints Nirmala Sitharaman and ex-Gujarat CM as Maharashtra Legislature party observers

BJP appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as central observers for the Maharashtra Legislature party meeting. The MLAs will elect their leader in the legislature party meeting, who will most likely serve as the state's next chief minister.

The development comes two days after NCP chief Ajit Pawar confirmed that the Chief Minister will be from the BJP, with deputy chief ministers from both the NCP and Shiv Sena. Shiv Sena and NCP have elected Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as their legislature party leaders, but the deadlock over the official announcement of the Chief Minister candidate's name is still ongoing.

Devendra Fadnavis has reportedly been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. A senior BJP leader informed news agency PTI on Sunday night that a meeting will be held to elect the former CM (between 2014 and 2019) as the legislature party leader.

Outgoing Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on December 1 said he would support the BJP's decision to pick the new chief minister. “The name of Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised as the new chief minister of Maharashtra. The meeting to elect the new BJP legislature party meeting will be held on either December 2 or 3,” PTI quoted a senior BJP leader as saying.

Caretaker Chief Minister of Maharashtra Eknath Shinde said that the Mahayuti allies – BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena – will decide on the government formation through consensus after sitting together. These comments came after speculation emerged that his son Shrikant Shinde might get the deputy CM's post, and Shiv Sena is keen on the Home portfolio.

Notably, the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government is scheduled to take place on December 5 evening at Mumbai's Azad Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule confirmed the development about oath-taking ceremony of the new Mahayuti government. BJP-led Mahayuti clinched decisive victory in Maharashtra poll results declared on November 23. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats.

(With PTI inputs)