Eknath Shinde resigns, to serve as caretaker Chief Minister amid Maharashtra suspense

Eknath Shinde resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Tuesday and was appointed the caretaker chief minister by Governor CP Radhakrishnan.

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 today. However, the suspense over who will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra continues.

Days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led ruling Mahayuti won a landslide victory in the assembly elections, shattering the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi’s dream to wrest power.

The government formation in Maharashtra, which appeared likely immediately after the BJP-led coalition’s thumping victory, has been delayed due to Shiv Sena’s insistence that Eknath Shinde continue as the chief minister.

The Mahayuti coalition, comprising the Shiv Sena, BJP and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), retained power by winning 230 of the 288 assembly seats in the just-concluded state polls, leaving the Aghadi with just 46 seats.

The BJP, led by Fadnavis, won the highest-ever 132 seats for the party, while the Shiv Sena led by Shinde bagged 57 seats and NCP won 41 seats to take the Mahayuti total to 230 seats.

On November 23, Fadnavis denied any dispute over the chief minister’s post, saying leaders of the Mahayuti would decide on the issue.

Fadnavis served as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister in 2014, completing a full five-year term while in coalition with the then-undivided Shiv Sena.

After the 2019 assembly elections, the BJP, under Fadnavis, briefly formed a government with Ajit Pawar, who was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. However, the government lasted only 80 hours, as Ajit Pawar pulled out to again be with his uncle, Sharad Pawar, the current NCP (SP) chief.