Maharashtra govt formation: BJP's legislature party meeting on December 4 — check details

Maharashtra government formation: The Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) legislature party meeting will convene at 10:00 am on December 4 at Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan, according to the party's state unit. The MLAs will elect their leader in the legislature party meeting, who will most likely serve as Maharashtra's next chief minister.

According to a senior functionary, the BJP will elect its legislature party leader on Wednesday, following which the name of the chief minister will be announced. This announcement will be made a day before the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government, reported PTI.

Earlier in the day, the BJP appointed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as central observers for the Maharashtra legislature party meeting.

"Rupani and Sitharaman would meet the BJP's elected representatives in Mumbai on Wednesday. Following this meeting, the chosen candidate's name will be relayed to senior leaders in Delhi. These observers will then announce the elected leader of the BJP, who is set to be the next chief minister," PTI quoted the BJP functionary as saying.

Notably, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule confirmed that the swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government will take place on December 5 evening at Mumbai's Azad Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders.

The BJP-led Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the Maharashtra assembly polls. When the results were declared on November 23, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, raking in 132 seats.

On Sunday, Maharashtra NCP chief and Lok Sabha member from Raigad, Sunil Tatkare, said, "BJP legislature party leader hasn't been appointed yet. We will sit together and decide whether only chief minister and deputy chief ministers will take oath or ministers will also be sworn-in," reported PTI.

A senior BJP leader suggested that former Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has been finalised for the CM's post, but the party has not yet officially announced the candidate's name for the post. The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, the BJP's two main allies in the Mahayuti coalition, have elected caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as their legislature party leaders.

(With PTI inputs)