New Delhi: Eknath Shinde feeling upset over not continuing as chief minister is justified, but Devendra Fadnavis’s claim cannot be ignored, given the BJP’s landslide win in Maharashtra, says Ramdas Athawale, an NDA partner from Maharashtra.
Athawale, the Union Minister of State (MoS) of Social Justice and Empowerment, told ThePrint that PM Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah should step in and resolve the ‘deadlock’ soon since any delay would send out the wrong message to those who voted for the Mahayuti in Maharashtra. “We should not spend too much time as people can then think there is controversy over the CM issue,” he said.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai Wednesday, Shinde said he “always worked, lived as a common man” and never saw himself as a CM. “I told Modi-Shah as well, whatever decision you take, I won’t come in between. They will have my support,” he added.
The ruling Mahayuti comprising BJP, Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, swept the assembly elections in Maharashtra, clinching 230 of 288 seats. BJP emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats—a strike rate of 88.5 percent—followed by Shinde Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
“Mahayuti’s victory is huge, even beyond our expectations … The thing is, Shinde is a popular neta (leader) and he did good work in the last two and a half years but the BJP got 132 seats, so BJP leaders and supporters want Devendra Fadnavis to become the chief minister,” explains Athawale.
In the aftermath of the 2019 assembly elections, the undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray had walked out of its alliance with the BJP, alleging refusal to honour Sena’s demand for a rotating chief ministership.
The BJP won 105, and the undivided Sena 56 seats in that election.
This time around, not long after results started pouring in, the Shinde Sena through its rank and file indicated that it wanted Shinde to continue as chief minister. They cited the ‘Bihar model’, a reference to how the BJP conceded the chief minister’s post to ally Nitish Kumar despite having emerged as the single largest party in the 2020 assembly elections.
Mahayuti went into the polls under the leadership of Shinde, they argued.
But, Athawale disagrees. “Shinde thinks he should be given another opportunity, same as Nitish Kumar. He has this feeling. The problem is BJP got such big numbers, how do you justify making a CM from a party with 57 seats; Shinde was made CM earlier too,” he says.
The Union minister also underlines that the NDA declared Nitish as its chief ministerial face in the run-up to the 2020 Bihar polls, but that was not the case in Maharashtra this time. “Elections did take place under him since he (Shinde) was the CM but no announcement was made that he will remain the CM once the Mahayuti comes to power,” says Athawale.
How will the Mahayuti resolve the issue? Athawale says both Modi and Shah will talk to Shinde and ‘persuade’ him. “They need to end this deadlock soon. My suggestion is to make Fadnavis the CM and bring Shinde to the Centre. This will end the deadlock. We are not against Shinde or Fadnavis but the final decision has to be taken by Modi and Shah.”
Athawale says he has “sought time” from Amit Shah to discuss his proposal. “But more than me it is Shinde who needs to have a dialogue with PM Modi and Shah. For instance, BJP can decide to give better portfolios to Shinde Sena or in the Cabinet more ministerial berths can be given to them.”
On Tuesday, Shinde formally tendered his resignation as chief minister to Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, marking the dissolution of the previous assembly. The Governor asked him to continue as caretaker CM till a new council of ministers is sworn in, as is the norm.
Asked about the ‘Batenge toh katenge’ slogan coined by UP CM Yogi Adityanath, Athawale says it is not against any one community.
“The slogan was simply that we should all remain united. It was not that all Hindus should remain united. Even PM Modi said ‘Ek hain toh safe hain’ which means if Indians are united, countries like Pakistan and China can’t do anything to us. The slogan was, all those who believe in India and Modi should come together. So it did help us in the elections,” he says.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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