‘New Maha CM from BJP, Mahayuti allies to get 2 deputy CM posts’: Ajit Pawar

The next Maharashtra chief minister will be from the Bharatiya Janata Party and there will be two deputy CMs from the Mahayuti allies, Ajit Pawar said on Saturday amid suspense over the new pick. “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,” PTI quoted the Nationalist Congress Party chief as saying.Pawar’s remark comes amid Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule confirming that the new Mahayuti government will be sworn in on December 5 at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. 
In a social media post on X, Bawankule wrote, “Oath-taking ceremony of the Maha-Yuti Government in Maharashtra. It will be held in the presence of the pride of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 5 PM at Azad Maidan, Mumbai.”
The Mahayuti alliance comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s NCP registered a landslide 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.On Thursday, caretaker CM Eknath Shinde, his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the national capital.  Before the meeting, Shinde had made it clear that any decision on the chief minister’s post by the top BJP leadership would be acceptable to him.“I called PM Modi and Amit Shah yesterday and told them to decide (on who will be the CM post), and assured them that I will abide by whatever decision they take,” Shinde said at a press conference in Thane.Shiv Sena leader Shambhuraj Desai said that the senior Mahayuti leaders will sit together and discuss the cabinet formation.
“Discussion about the portfolios is discussed by the senior leaders of the party… Our three leaders will sit together and make a formula for everything after a discussion…. Earlier, I got the information that the legislative meeting of the BJP will be held on Monday (2nd Dec) and they will choose the legislative leader of their party,” ANI quoted Desai as saying.“Shiv Sena and NCP have already chosen Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as the leaders of their parties respectively… After the meeting, the three leaders will decide the formula for state cabinet and portfolios,” he added.(With PTI, ANI inputs)