Maharashtra election results: Who's in fray to be next CM
As the counting of votes for the Maharashtra Assembly elections is underway, early trends indicate that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti is leading against the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Mahayuti coalition, which includes BJP, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), is leading on 83 seats. Meanwhile, MVA trails with 42 seats in the 288-seat Assembly. Despite these early leads, neither alliance has announced a candidate for the Chief Minister's post yet.
Fadnavis, Shinde, Pawar: Mahayuti's top contenders for CM
Within the Mahayuti camp, Devendra Fadnavis is a strong contender for the CM's post. A master strategist, Fadnavis has served as Maharashtra's CM twice and was instrumental in the BJP's campaign and seat-sharing negotiations. Eknath Shinde is another important player in Mahayuti's CM race. Shinde spearheaded a major Shiv Sena rebellion in 2022 and was surprisingly made Maharashtra's CM owing to his Maratha identity.
MVA's potential candidates for Maharashtra CM
Among the MVA alliance, Uddhav Thackeray is a strong contender for the CM's post. Thackeray has been the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the past and continues to be a vocal political leader despite the controversies from his time in office. Congress's Nana Patole also competes for the top spot in MVA. Patole is confident Congress will emerge as the largest party in the Assembly and has been the Assembly Speaker in the past.
Infighting within alliances over CM candidates
The infighting in both alliances over their CM candidates is apparent. Patole's claim of Congress winning maximum seats was countered by Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut who claimed all alliance partners will together decide MVA's CM face after they win a majority. BJP leader Pravin Darekar underscored internal rifts in MVA by saying "The people of Maharashtra have given clear mandate. The Chief Minister will be from Mahayuti not MVA and certainly not Congress."
