Eknath Shinde, who was briefly hospitalised in Thane for health issues, returned to Mumbai late in the evening and held discussions with BJP leaders, including Devendra Fadnavis.
Shiv Sena MLA and Shinde’s close aide, Gulabrao Patil, told the media that if Shinde were to accept the position of Deputy Chief Minister, the BJP should allocate the Home Ministry and other key portfolios to their faction. However, the BJP leadership has remained silent on the demands from Shinde’s Shiv Sena. Political analysts interpret this as a clear message from the BJP to Shinde and his faction that the party intends to retain the Chief Minister’s post and will not entertain what they view as unreasonable demands.
The message has been underscored by the support of Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction for Fadnavis as Chief Minister. This support has signalled the BJP’s readiness to form the government without Shinde’s participation. Additionally, BJP has not addressed the grievances of Shiv Sena MLAs, who expressed dissatisfaction upon learning about the new government’s swearing-in ceremony via a social media post by BJP state president Chandrashekhar Bawankule.
The State government’s publicity department issued an official note confirming that the swearing-in ceremony will take place on December 5 at 5 PM at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.
Meanwhile, NCP leader Ajit Pawar was in New Delhi for discussions with BJP leadership regarding the formation of the new government.