BJP CM, 2 deputy CMs from allies: Ajit Pawar on Maharashtra govt formation

Pune: The next chief minister of Maharashtra will be from the BJP and there will be two deputy chief ministers from other Mahayuti constituents, NCP chief Ajit Pawar said here on Saturday.

The Mahayuti, which comprises the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) headed by Ajit Pawar, registered a resounding victory in the Maharashtra assembly elections. By winning 132 seats, the BJP emerged as the single largest party, while Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats respectively.

However, government formation has been delayed and suspense over the next CM continues.

Ajit Pawar was in the city to meet 95-year-old social activist Dr Baba Adhav, who held a protest against the alleged misuse of electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the recent Maharashtra assembly polls.

When asked who will be the chief minister of the state, Pawar said, "The state will have one chief minister from BJP and two deputies from other two parties of Mahayuti. Tentatively, the oath taking ceremony will take place on December 5. We have decided to move ahead with a strong vision." State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday evening announced that the new Mahayuti government will be sworn in at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on the evening of December 5 in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's presence.

While there was no announcement yet on who would be the chief minister, BJP sources said Devendra Fadnavis, who has been chief minister twice and was deputy CM in the last Eknath Shinde-led government, was the frontrunner for the top post.

Ajit Pawar was another deputy CM in the Shinde-led government.