On Sunday, there was some disagreement within the Mahayuti, the alliance of political parties in Maharashtra, about who should lead them after their big win in the assembly elections. The Mahayuti includes the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Together, they won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly: BJP got 132 seats, Shiv Sena got 57, and NCP got 41.
Shiv Sena MLA Gulabrao Patil claimed that if Ajit Pawar’s NCP hadn’t joined their group, the Shiv Sena would have won even more seats—around 90 to 100. Patil is unhappy about NCP being in the government, saying Shinde didn’t question their presence.
NCP spokesperson Amol Mitkari replied by telling Patil to be careful with his words, suggesting Patil might not get a ministerial position this time around.
Another Shiv Sena MLA, Sanjay Gaikwad, who barely won his election by just 841 votes, criticized his fellow party members for not supporting him and questioned some leaders for talking to candidates from rival groups.
BJP leader Raosaheb Danve commented that if the Shiv Sena hadn’t split from the BJP and had stayed allies, they would have won even more seats.
Looking ahead, the Mahayuti still hasn’t announced who the new chief minister will be, but a ceremony is scheduled for December 5, with hopes that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will attend. Speculation is also building regarding what role Eknath Shinde will play in the new government.
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