Days after the ruling Mahayuti alliance retained power after a landslide victory in the assembly election, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has tendered his resignation to Governor C P Radhakrishnan today.
The governor asked Shinde to act as a caretaker chief minister till the new CM is sworn in. Shinde, along with his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar had arrived at the Raj Bhavan to meet the Governor, as the Maharashtra assembly term comes to an end on November 26. Ministers Deepak Kesarkar and Dadaji Bhuse were also present.
Talking to reporters later, Deepak Kesarkar, a minister in the Shinde cabinet confirmed about the resignation and the Governor's directive for Shinde to act as caretaker chief minister. When asked who will be the next CM, Kesarkar said, ‘Every political worker desires that the CM should from his or her party, but whatever decision Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah take will be acceptable to all of us.’ He said the new government will be sworn in at the earliest.
The ruling Mahayuti coalition showed an impressive performance in the recent assembly elections, where it secured a commanding 230 out of 288 seats. The BJP on its own walked away with 132 seats followed by Shiv Sena Shinde faction with 57 and Ajit Pawar led NCP with 41 seats.