Uddhav Sena surrenders before Congress and NCP, had to agree on CM face

For the past one month, Uddhav Thackeray had been saying that before the assembly elections, we should decide the chief ministerial face of the Mahavikas Aghadi. He was saying this with great emphasis and he even said that the CM face should not be decided on the basis of which party of the alliance has got the most seats. His clear indication was that Uddhav Sena has a claim on the CM post and its leader should be made the face beforehand. However, Sharad Pawar and Congress did not pay any attention to his stance. Even a senior leader like Sharad Pawar said that we will contest without a face and the first target is to oust the NDA from power.

Now Uddhav Sena also seems to be bowing down in front of Congress and Sharad Pawar. Party leader Sanjay Raut said on Thursday that talks on the chief ministerial candidate of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) for the upcoming assembly elections in Maharashtra can happen later. Because the first goal is to remove the ‘corrupt’ Mahayuti government in the state. His remarks came a day after Sharad Pawar’s statement in which he said that there is no need for MVA to declare the face for the post of Chief Minister. It can be decided on the basis of strength after the election results.

Raut said, ‘Pawar sahab is 100 percent right. This (Mahayuti) is a three-party government, but MVA is getting a majority in Maharashtra. Our first task is to remove the current government. We can talk about the chief minister’s post any time later.’ His remarks indicate that his party has softened its stand on who will form the next government in the state. Last month, Shiv Sena (Uttar Pradesh) chief Uddhav Thackeray had asked allies – Congress and NCP (Sharad Pawar) – to decide the face for the chief minister’s post and pledged his support for the candidate for the top post.

Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray had said on Wednesday that there is no tussle between the MVA allies over the post of Chief Minister. He had arrived to attend a program in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra. Earlier, while talking to reporters in Kolhapur, Pawar had said that the decision on who will be the Chief Minister can be taken after the election results are out. He had said that the MVA’s chief ministerial candidate will be decided on the basis of which party wins the most assembly seats. Assembly elections are likely to be held in Maharashtra in November.