Moving ahead with the process of forming a government in Maharashtra, Bharatiya Janata Party MLAs on Tuesday elected Devendra Fadnavis as the new chief minister of Maharashtra.
Eknath Khadse, party's powerful leader in North Maharashtra, who had demanded that somebody from the region be made CM, Mungantiwar, who had pitched for Union Minister and former BJP president Nitin Gadkari for the post, and Pankaja Munde, daughter of influential OBC leader late Gopinath Munde, all proposed or seconded name of Fadnavis for the top job.
The decision was taken in the BJP legislature party meeting in the Vidhan Bhavan in the presence of the party's central observers, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP national general secretary JP Nadda.
Speaking to the media, Fadnavis said, "There were many eligible candidates in the party, but my name was proposed by Eknath Khadse, which was seconded by other party leaders. I thank Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, OP Mathur and Rajiv Pratap Rudy." He further added, "This government will follow the path of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and I will work with transperancy for the development of the state."
The 44-year-old state BJP president Devendra Fadnavis, under whose leadership the party registered its most impressive performance in Maharashtra till date, is said to have the backing of both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Fadnavis won the assembly election from Nagpur South West constituency by more than 30,000 votes.
Though Fadnavis, with his RSS roots and backing of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, was a clear frontrunner for the coveted post ever since BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state for the first time, several seniors had thrown their hat into the ring.
Fadnavis, accompanied by other members of state BJP core committee, will call on Governor C Vidyasagar Rao at the Raj Bhavan to formally stake claim to form the government. Since BJP is the single largest party with 122 seats, it could either form the minority government with support of independent candidates or may form an alliance government with the support of Shiv Sena. Meanwhile, the NCP has already made it clear that it will abstain from voting in the Legislative Assembly if a minority government headed by the BJP seeks a trust vote.
The BJP will hold the swearing-in of the new government in Maharashtra on October 31. The Maharashtra unit of BJP is leaving no stone unturned to make the oath-taking ceremony of its first chief minister at the Wankhede stadium in South Mumbai.
BJP emerged as the single largest party in the state assembly election held in October with 122 seats, and with one of BJP's allies Mahadeo Jankar winning one seat, the total number of seats reached 123. However, Govind Rathod, who was elected from Mukhed in Nanded, passed away on Sunday, reducing the BJP's number to 121.
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