The meeting of Mahayuti leaders with top Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, including Amit Shah, ended without a final decision on next chief minister of Maharashtra.
The marathon meeting at Shah's residence in the national capital and was attended by caretaker CM Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, was inconclusive, according to a report in The Hindu.
BJP President JP Nadda also attended the meeting that that lasted for two hours. The Maharashtra leaders flew back to Mumbai after midnight. Another meeting of Mahayuti leaders is scheduled today, and is expected to end the suspense on the next chief minister of Maharashtra.
Speaking to media in Mumbai, Shinde described the meeting as "good and positive. "This was the first meeting. There will be another meeting of the Mahayuti. In this meeting, a decision will be taken about who will be the Chief Minister. The meeting will be held in Mumbai," Shinde was quoted as saying to news agency ANI
The meeting was held a day after Shinde conceded the race for the next chief minister by saying he and his party will support the BJP's top leadership's decision. Shinde has cleared the way for Fadnavis to succeed him.
The Mahayuti won 230 seats in the 288-member assembly elections. Of these, the BJP alone bagged 132 seats. Among other partners, Shinde-led Shiv Sena won 57 seats, while Ajit Pawar’s NCP won 41 seats.
The new government is expected to take oath on December 2. Thursday's meeting with Amit Shah was expected to stamp the exact structure of the goverment. The official announcement on the new chief minister is expected after the formal election of the leader of the BJP legislature party in Mumbai likely to be held on Friday.
The new government is expected to repeat the structure of two deputy chief ministers under the chief minister. In the previous Mahayuti government, Chief Minister Shinde had two deputies, Fadnavis and Pawar.
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