'Good and positive': Eknath Shinde after meeting Amit Shah amid Maharashtra CM suspense

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Friday said he had "good and positive" discussions with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP chief J P Nadda on the issue of government formation in the state.  Before departing for Mumbai, Shinde told reporters that the Maharashtra chief minister will be chosen "in a day or two" at another Mahayuti coalition gathering in the state capital.

Following the BJP-led coalition's overwhelming victory in the Assembly elections, Shinde met with Amit Shah and JP Nadda late Thursday to work out a power-sharing agreement for Maharashtra's future administration. He was joined by Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar.

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"In a day or two, we will make a choice regarding the Maharashtra chief minister. We have had and will continue to have talks. When we make a final choice, you will know," the outgoing chief minister stated. Shinde declared that he would respect the choice made by Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and would not stand in the way of the state's administration being formed. "This 'ladka bhau' (beloved brother) designation is higher than anything else for me," he stated.

"We all spoke about how governments are formed. The allies are working well together, we are all optimistic, and we will uphold the unambiguous directive that the people have given us. We will soon form the government," he added.

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Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 results

The Shiv Sena leader said the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a thumping majority and respecting the mandate is the topmost priority, not "running after posts". Recovering from its Lok Sabha elections losses, the BJP bagged 132 Assembly seats, the highest among all constituents of the Mahayuti alliance. Both Ajit Pawar's NCP and Shinde's Shiv Sena had strong showings. NCP secured 41 seats, while Sena secured 57.

The Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a blow when it only managed to secure 16 seats in the Assembly elections, one of its poorest showings to date. Only 10 seats were gained by Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP), whereas 20 seats were won by Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT).

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