Allies will sit together to decide: Devendra Fadnavis on chief minister deadlock

As the decision over the next Maharashtra Chief Minister remained undecided within the Mahayuti alliance, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, one of the frontrunners for the post, said that all three alliance parties would form the government together.
“All three parties will form the government together. All three groups will sit together and form the government,” he said, amid apparent discord within the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance.
The Mahayuti alliance secured a resounding victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, winning 233 out of 288 seats. However, even a week after the results, the alliance is yet to decide who will lead the next government. Intense deliberations are ongoing in both Maharashtra and Delhi, but reportedly, no consensus has been reached on whether the top post will go to Devendra Fadnavis or Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde.
According to sources, the BJP is firm about securing the chief minister’s post for Fadnavis, who led the party to win the maximum number of seats–132–in the Assembly election. However, Shiv Sena is reportedly adamant on Eknath Shinde, who also strengthened his position.
Earlier today, the Shiv Sena stated that Mahayuti’s resounding victory in the polls was solely due to Eknath Shinde’s leadership and firmly declared that he would not settle for a deputy chief minister’s post.
“The Assembly elections were fought in the name of Eknath Shinde. He deserves to return as the Chief Minister. He will not accept the position of the Deputy Chief Minister,” Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat told India Today TV.
According to sources, all three alliance leaders–Fadnavis, Shinde, and NCP chief Ajit Pawar–are likely to hold a meeting in Delhi today and discuss with BJP national leaders to reach a conclusion.
Earlier, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said that the BJP has decided to appoint Fadnavis as chief minister for a third term, although this has not been formally confirmed by the party.
A BJP leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, emphasised that the party would not rush to announce its candidate until the distribution of ministerial portfolios is finalised.