Fadnavis, Shinde or Pawar—Who Will Be Mahayuti's CM Pick?

In a surprise to political observers who were anticipating tough competition in the Maharashtra assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance has pulled off a landslide win and is all set to form the government in Maharashtra. The alliance secured a total of 226 out of 288 seats, way past the halfway mark. One of the key game changers in this election was the Majhi Ladki Behen Yojana, a scheme providing financial support to women introduced by the Mahayuti alliance.

The Opposition, the Maha Vikas Agadi (MVA), could only win 51 seats, resulting in an unexpected loss. 

Now, the focus will be on the chief ministerial pick. Union Home Minister Amit Shah had earlier said that the decision would be made by the Mahayuti partners after the election results were announced. "After the elections, all the three alliance partners will decide on the CM post," Shah had announced on November 10. Post the election results on November 23, CM Shinde congratulated and thanked the people of Maharashtra. He said that the decision regarding the chief minister post would be taken collectively.

Speaking to reporters after the results were announced, the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis said that the decision on who will be the CM will be taken after a consultation between all. "There will be no dispute about who will be the chief minister...It was decided from day one that, after the election, the leaders of the three parties will sit together and decide this. The choice will be acceptable to everyone," he said, aware, no doubt, that supporters of chief ministerial hopefuls have already begun jockeying for their favourites. 

Will the state see a new CM—Fadnavis or Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Ajit Pawar? Or will Shinde continue to lead the alliance? Some supporters and legislators from the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena are voicing their opinion that Shine should continue as the CM. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (West) MLA Sanjay Shirsat has expressed unwavering support for Shinde stating that party leaders will follow his lead.

Former CM Fadnavis who won from Nagpur Southwest by a margin of over 27,000 votes is also in the race for the top spot. In the recent past, Fadnavis has been battling from the front and was the top face of BJP on posters and hoardings. After the results, Sarita Fadnavis, Devendra Fadnavis' mother, in an interaction with ANI said that her son will become the chief minister. Considering that the BJP is the single-largest party in the Mahayuti alliance, securing 130 seats compared to 105 in the 2019 assembly elections, Fadnavis has a high chance of bagging the state’s top post.

The other deputy CM of the state, National Congress Party’s (NCP) Ajit Pawar, also emerged victorious from Baramati where he was contesting against his nephew and National Congress Party Sharad Pawar’s Yugendra Pawar. Sunetra Pawar, wife of Ajit Pawar, said that he should be the CM of the state. “It is a very fortunate day for everyone: Ajit Dada, NCP, the public, and Baramati. I thank the people of Baramati for extending their support to Ajit Dada. This is the victory of the people of Baramati. The win is the win of the people, I want the same (Ajit Pawar to be the CM) as the public wants...," Sunetra Pawar said. The Ajit Pawar faction of the NCP chalked up a surprise victory in 40 seats compared to 11 seats of the NCP Sharad Pawar faction. Hence, with a considerable amount of power in the alliance, Ajit Pawar’s chances of becoming the CM are considerable.