A farmer from Maharashtra's Beed district wants to be the state's chief minister till the ruling BJP and the Shiv Sena resolve their differences over power-sharing and formation of the next government.
The farmer, Srikant Vishnu Gadale, a resident of Vadmauli in Kej taluka, has expressed this wish in a letter submitted on Thursday to the office of Beed collector.
The Shiv Sena is demanding the post of Chief Minister for 2.5 years and 50:50 division of portfolios with its ally BJP.
Both these demands have been rejected by the BJP which has insisted that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will continue to hold the post for the next five years, delaying government formation since results of the Assembly polls came out on October 24.
Gadale has said that by taking over the top post, he wants to solve the problems of farmers who are facing crop loss due to unseasonal rains in parts of the state.
In his letter, he wrote, "The Shiv Sena and the BJP are yet to resolve their issue regarding the post of Chief Minister which was raised after the 2019 assembly election results."
"Natural calamities (unseasonal rains) have damaged ready-to-harvest crops in the state. Farmers are tense over these calamities, " he said, adding, "At a time when farmers are suffering, the Shiv Sena and the BJP are unable to resolve the issue of holding Chief
Minister's post."
"Hence, till the issue is resolved, the governor should hand over the responsibility of the Chief Minister's post to me. I will solve the problems of farmers and give them justice," Gadale said.
The farmer also wrote that if the administration does not take note of his letter, he would protest through "democratic means".
The assembly polls in Maharashtra were held on October 21.
