Sitharaman, Rupani Appointed Central Observers For Maharashtra Ahead Of CM Announcement

Mumbai: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has appointed Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as the party's Central Observers for Maharashtra. Despite the Mahayuti alliance's resounding victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, more than a week has passed, and the alliance has yet to announce its next Chief Minister.

On Sunday, Caretaker Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde stated that the decision rested with the BJP, and assured his full support to the chosen candidate.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MP from Kalyan, Shrikant Shinde, on Monday refuted the "rumours" of him becoming the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra and emphasised that he is not seeking any ministerial position in the state.

"After elections results, formation of government is delayed a little and that is why so many rumours are floating around and one is that I am going to be the deputy chief minister in the new government. I want to tell everyone that this is completely baseless and false, there is no fact in this. I had already a chance to become a minister in the Union Cabinet after Lok Sabha elections, but I chose to work for my party organisation and it is still like that, I have no desire for a position in power," Shrikant Shinde posted on X (formerly Twitter).

The results of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were declared on Saturday, November 23. In these elections, the Mahayuti secured 230 of the 288 seats in the state assembly. However, the alliance has yet to finalise its Chief Ministerial candidate.

The BJP won 132 seats, while its allies -- the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, secured 57 seats, and the NCP, led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, won 41 seats.

In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback. The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, won only 20 seats, Congress secured 16, and the NCP(SP), led by Sharad Pawar , managed just 10 seats.