A day after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Maharashtra chief minister, all eyes are now on former chief minister and BJP floor leader Devendra Fadnavis on the formation of the next government.
Now all are keenly watching Raj Bhavan to see when does Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari invite the BJP to form the next government in the state. The process for the change of regime in the state, which began with the rebellion of around 40 of 55 Shiv Sena MLAs under Eknath Shinde’s leadership, got a boost after BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis met Koshyari on Tuesday night and asked him to order a floor test of the Thackeray government, claiming it had lost majority.
The BJP, which is expected to stake claim to form the next government in Maharashtra soon following the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister, will be holding a series of meetings today to decide the future course of action, where party’s state in-charge C.T. Ravi will remain present.
Ravi, who has arrived in Mumbai on Thursday morning, will attend a meeting at ‘Sagar’ bungalow, the official residence of Leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis with senior party leaders, including its state chief Chandrakant Patil. The BJP has also asked all of its MLAs to remain in Mumbai city till the next steps are taken, they said.
As Uddhav stepped down as Maharashtra’s CM, top leaders of the BJP huddled into a meeting at a five-star hotel in south Mumbai to strategise their next move. Top BJP leaders from Maharashtra will hold a meeting on Thursday to finalise their next course of action. BJP is getting ready to stake a claim for the fomraiton of the new government under the leadership of Devendra Fadnavis, backed by the Eknath Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, which comprises 39 rebel MLAs, and Independents.
After Uddhav Thackeray resignation, State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil said on Wednesday that BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will now decide the next course of action. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned earlier in the evening, a day before a scheduled floor test in the state assembly. The state BJP unit had asked all its MLAs to gather in Mumbai.
To a question about the BJP’s next move, as it is the single largest party in the Maharashtra legislative assembly, Patil said: “The next steps will be decided by Fadnavis and Eknath Shinde”. He also said BJP workers “should observe restraint in victory.”
Rebel Shiv Sena MLAs will hold meetings at a five-star hotel in Goa where they are staying for the night and discuss their next steps in the wake of the resignation of Uddhav Thackeray. A chartered flight carrying the breakaway MLAs of Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde landed at the Dabolim airport in Goa on Wednesday night from Guwahati. From the airport, they headed to the hotel in Dona Paula in special buses.
