In Maharashtra, for the first time, there are around twelve potential chief minister candidates representing six major parties. Among them, Congress has the most CM candidates. The elderly party has a minimum of 4 potential candidates for the position of chief minister. NCP, led by Sharad Pawar, has 2 potential chief ministerial candidates, while BJP also has 2 such contenders being discussed for the future role.
Other than these 8 individuals, 3 people have publicly shown their ambition to be the Chief Minister. The trio consists of Eknath Shinde, Uddhav Thackeray, and Ajit Pawar. In this narrative, we will learn about the various candidates vying for the position of Chief Minister in Maharashtra.
Eknath Shinde, the present Chief Minister, is once again in the running for the position of CM. Shivsena (Shinde), his political party, is participating in elections on approximately 80 seats in Maharashtra. In 2022, with just 40 MLAs, Shinde rebelled and was given the CM chair by the BJP. There are rumors that Shinde may become the Chief Minister if such an equation occurs again.
Uddhav Thackeray, the leader of Shiv Sena (UBT), is also competing for the position of chief minister. Uddhav’s party has repeatedly asked the All India Alliance parties to announce him as the CM candidate. In 2019, Uddhav became the CM when the Maha Vikas Aghadi government was established with backing from Sharad Pawar and Congress.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is presently the biggest party in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. Devendra Fadnavis holds the position of Deputy CM representing the BJP. Fadnavis may become the CM if the government is established, sources claim. A poster of Fadnavis at the BJP office has been the center of attention in recent days.
Excluding Sharad Pawar, there are two primary candidates vying for the position of Chief Minister within the NCP (Sharad). Supriya Sule is the first name and Jayant Patil is the second name. Supriya Sule, who is the daughter of Sharad Pawar, serves as the working president of NCP (Sharad). Ajit, Sharad Pawar’s nephew, claimed at a rally that I couldn’t be the Chief Minister because I didn’t have a leader as a parent.
Recently, Sharad Pawar has supported Jayant Patil’s assertion. During a rally, Pawar mentioned that he hopes Jayant is prepared to handle significant duties.
The Old Grand Party Congress has up to 4 candidates vying for the position of Chief Minister. Notable names among them include Nana Patole, Bala Saheb Thorat, Vijay Wadettiwar, and Prithviraj Chavan. Prithviraj Chavan used to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He is currently running for the position of MLA.
Bala Saheb Thorat is seen as having a strong connection with the top leadership. Recently, when the seat sharing issue hit a roadblock, Congress had Thorat take the lead as per the high command’s instructions.
Vijay Wadettiwar, an OBC leader, currently holds the position of Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly. He is also being seen as a potential candidate for the role of CM.
Voting is taking place for 288 assembly seats in Maharashtra. A total of 145 MLAs are required to establish a government in this location. On one hand, BJP, Shiv Sena (led by Shinde), and NCP (led by Ajit) are part of Mahayuti, while on the other hand, Shiv Sena (led by Uddhav), NCP (led by Sharad), and Congress are in the mix.