Five Arguments For Eknath Shinde's Claim To The CM's Chair

Despite two days having passed since the Vidhan Sabha results gave a thumping majority to the Mahayuti, the alliance has yet to approach the Governor to stake a claim for government formation. The process has hit a deadlock over the choice of the next Chief Minister. With Ajit Pawar out of the race, the tug-of-war now lies between Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde and the BJP for the top position.

Here are five arguments presented by the Shinde camp in support of his claim to the Chief Minister's post:

Shinde's camp takes credit for the game-changing 'Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana', asserting that it was his brainchild. The prefix "Mukhyamantri" in the scheme’s name is self-explanatory. A day after the results, Shinde invited around a thousand women to his official residence, Varsha, to highlight that it was his initiative that resonated with women voters and led the alliance to victory.

The Shinde camp argues that the electorate voted to continue the Mahayuti government due to their satisfaction with Eknath Shinde's performance as Chief Minister. The alliance went to the polls projecting him as their leader, making it logical for him to continue in the position.

According to Shinde camp leaders, the Shiv Sena upheld alliance dharma by working sincerely to ensure the victory of BJP candidates. They believe this cooperation should be reciprocated by allowing Shinde to retain the Chief Minister’s chair.

After 2019, Uddhav Thackeray not only broke ties with the BJP but also became its fiercest rival in Maharashtra. Eknath Shinde took the risk of rebelling against Thackeray, a move that paved the way for the BJP to return to power in June 2022. In the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha elections, Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena suffered a significant defeat, and Shinde's rebellion is being credited for this outcome.

Shinde’s camp argues that the BJP should follow the "Bihar Pattern" in Maharashtra. They point out that the BJP allowed Nitish Kumar to remain Chief Minister in Bihar, despite his JD(U) holding fewer seats in the Vidhan Sabha. They contend that the same formula should apply in Shinde’s case.

However, BJP leaders are reluctant to give up the Chief Minister’s position, considering their overwhelming performance in the elections. The BJP secured 132 seats, significantly more than Shiv Sena's 57. They argue that circumstances in June 2022, when Shinde became Chief Minister despite having only 40 seats, were different. At the time, the BJP sought to avoid potential backlash from Maratha quota activists during upcoming elections and viewed Shinde as a Maratha leader who could mitigate the issue.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah is expected to visit Mumbai to meet senior Mahayuti leaders. A final decision on the matter is anticipated by Tuesday.

Jitendra Dixit is a Contributing Editor of NDTV and author of the book Bombay After Ayodhya.

Discalimer: The views expressed here are those of the author, and do not necessarily represent the views of NDTV Profit or its editorial team.