Maharashtra: Newly elected BJP MLAs to meet to elect their leader

The newly elected Members of Legislative Assembly of BJP in Maharashtra will meet on Wednesday to formally elect their leader. Moreover, the BJP announced that the party president Amit Shah had deputed Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and party vice-president Avinash Rai Khanna to attend the meeting as central observers. Devendra Fadnavis is expected to be elected as the leader of BJP’s legislative party. Similarly, the Nationalist Congress Party MLAs too will meet in Mumbai on Wednesday. NCP supremo Sharad Pawar will chair the meeting to be held at the party’s headquarters.  

Read: Sanjay Raut To Fadnavis: "Can Be CM For 5 Years If You Have Majority"

A rift in the alliance

After the declaration of the Maharashtra Assembly elections on October 24, differences between the BJP and Shiv Sena (SS) have come to the fore. This is owing to the BJP bagging 17 seats less than the 2014 election tally. In all the interactions with the press since the election, various SS leaders have demanded that the Chief Minister’s post should be shared between the two alliance partners. Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut, in particular, has allegedly riled BJP with his jibes and tweets.

Read: Amid Shiv Sena-BJP Tussle, New Options To Form Government May Emerge

Fadnavis takes on Shiv Sena

On Tuesday, Fadnavis reportedly told the media that the BJP did not accord importance to what Raut said. He also took on Saamana, the Shiv Sena mouthpiece edited by Raut. Maintaining that Saamana was going overboard in its criticism against BJP, he reportedly dared the paper to write in a similar fashion against Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). Contending that the 1995 formula was not relevant now, he claimed that the ‘Mahayuti’ government would function for the next 5 years under the leadership of BJP, sources said. 

Read: BJP MP Rajiv Pratap Rudy On BJP-Sena Power Tussle

Read: Devendra Fadnavis: We Do Not Give Importance To What Sanjay Raut Said