Published 19:03 IST, November 11th 2019
Sena delegation pitches Uddhav Thackeray as CM to Maha Guv: Sources
As per sources, Shiv Sena leaders have told the Maharashtra Governor on Monday that party supremo Uddhav Thackeray is the main contender to be the next CM.
As per sources, the Shiv Sena leaders have told Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Monday that party supremo Uddhav Thackeray is the main contender to be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This comes after hectic parlays in the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress camps to forge an alliance for the government formation in the state. According to the sources, the NCP will be a part of the government, while the Congress party will extend outside support to the government. This comes as a shift from the Sena's presumed earlier stance where Aaditya Thackeray was said to be the party's CM pick.
Union Minister Arvind Sawant resigns
Monday witnessed a series of meetings of the Congress Working Committee and the core group of the NCP. Union Minister Arvind Sawant, in a press conference, announced his decision to resign from the Union Cabinet. He observed that the alliance in the state was finished and a new government was about to be formed. Maintaining it was “not appropriate” to continue in his position, Sawant revealed that he had tendered his resignation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the other hand, Uddhav Thackeray and Congress president Sonia Gandhi spoke over the phone later.
Maharashtra power tussle
The Maharashtra assembly election was conducted on October 21. The results declared on October 24 threw up a surprise with the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance not faring as well as expected. The tally of the BJP came down to 105, from 122 seats which they had won in the 2014 election. Shiv Sena too won from only 56 constituencies. On the other hand, the NCP and Cong gained 54 and 44 seats respectively. Though the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had a comfortable majority, a tussle broke out over the CM’s post. On November 8, both caretaker Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray lashed out at each other, indicating a bleak future for the alliance. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut has also been repeatedly asserting that the next CM would be from his party.
Updated 20:04 IST, November 11th 2019