NEW DELHI: The Mahayuti 2.0 government is finally in office with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis back as Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP chief Ajit Pawar as deputy chief ministers. The Mahayuti trio took oath at a glittering ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. This marked the end of a 12-day-long political drama that gripped the state despite a sweeping mandate to the ruling coalition.
With 230 seats in 288-member Maharashtra assembly, Mahayuti’s return to power should have been smooth. But that was not to be. The run up to government formation after results were out on November 23 saw intense drama and hectic lobbying after outgoing chief minister Eknath Shinde insisted on a second term as the leader of the coalition.
Soon after the numbers were out, the Shiv Sena launched an orchestrated campaign demanding a second term for Shinde as Mahayuti chief minister. This despite the fact that Sena had won only 57 seats, which was less than half of BJP’s record tally of 132.
Sena leaders put up posters, tweaked PM Modi’s slogan “Ek hain to safe hain” to say “Ek(nath) hain to safe hain” and also cited the Bihar model of power sharing where Nitish Kumar is the chief minister despite being a junior partner to the BJP – to push Shinde’s candidature for the top job.
However, nothing worked as BJP, with just 13 seats short of a majority, was firm on leading the government this time around. In 2022, Shinde was given the top post by the BJP after he rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray to split the Shiv Sena and pave the way for the return of the NDA government in the state.
After four days, Shinde relented by hinting that he was ready to give up his claim for the top post and would abide by the decision of Prime Minister Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah on Mahayuti’s CM-pick. Shinde claimed that his two-and-a-half-year tenure was historic and the work done was equivalent to 10 years of governance.
The three Mahayuti leaders then met Amit Shah and BJP chief JP Nadda in the national capital to discuss the power-sharing formula. It was after this meeting that Shinde once again went incommunicado.
He made a sudden trip to his native village leading to the cancellation of scheduled meeting in Mumbai. Shiv Sena leaders offered different versions of his sudden village visit adding to the suspense. Some said he was unwell, while others claimed that he had gone there to take a big decision.
After two days of village stay, Shinde returned to Mumbai and announced a new date for the meeting of Mahayuti leaders. However, this meeting also had to be cancelled as Shinde this time went to his house in Thane citing ill-health.
With Shinde refusing to budge, the BJP unilaterally announced the date of the oath-taking ceremony, putting pressure on Shinde. It appointed central observers and fixed the date for the meeting of legislature party to formally elect Devendra Fadnavis for the post of chief minister.
Left with no option, Shinde finally returned from Thane after a brief stopover at a hospital for medical tests. Subsequently, Fadnavis visited Shinde’s official residence to discuss the modalities of the new government.
However, the drama was far from over. While Shinde accepted Fadnavis as the leader of the Mahayuti, he did not clear the air about his future role.
When the three leaders went to meet governor CP Radhakrishnan, Fadnavis revealed that Shinde was still not decided about joining the government as deputy chief minister. It was only a couple of hours before the swearing-in ceremony that Shinde finally put an end to this suspense as he announced that he would be taking oath as deputy chief minister.
Shinde is now in the government as a deputy of Fadnavis. But is the power-sharing crisis over? Well, we do not know as the portfolio division is still not official and Shiv Sena leaders have openly demanded home ministry for Eknath Shinde.
