Amid a tussle within the Mahayuti over the Chief Minister post, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Chief Ajit Pawar on Saturday cleared the air and said that it has been decided in the meeting that the CM will be from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the remaining two parties will have Deputy Chief Ministers.
Speaking to the media, Pawar said, "During the meeting (Delhi meeting of Mahayuti leader) it was decided that Mahayuti will form the government with CM from BJP and the remaining two parties will have DCMs." "This is not the first time there has been a delay... If you remember, in 1999, one month was taken for government formation," he further added. Earlier, on Thursday night, Maharashtra's caretaker CM Eknath Shinde, along with Devendra Fadnavis, NCP chief Ajit Pawar, and other Mahayuti leaders, met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president JP Nadda in the national capital. This comes after reports on Friday suggested that caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was "upset" and had travelled to his native village amid the delay in forming the government. However, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant dismissed these claims, clarifying that Shinde would return soon and that the next cabinet would be finalised shortly. Earlier today, Eknath Shinde's family doctor said that he has been suffering from fever and a throat infection for the past two days. The doctor mentioned that a team of three to four doctors is treating Eknath Shinde in his native village in Satara district, Maharashtra. RM Patre, Shinde's family doctor, told ANI, "He is doing fine now. He has been experiencing fever, body pain, throat infection, and cold for the past two days. We have administered antibiotics. A team of three to four doctors is attending to him." Meanwhile, amid suspense over the announcement of the Chief Ministerial candidate in Maharashtra, BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced on Saturday that the oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti government will take place on December 5. The ceremony is scheduled to be held at 5 pm at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Bawankule added that the event will be conducted in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In a post on X, Bawankule wrote, "The oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra will be held in the presence of the pride of the world, Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 5 PM at Azad Maidan, Mumbai." (ANI)
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