Maharashtra CM news highlights: Eknath Shinde to return from Satara tomorrow, says Sena leader

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat said that the name of the Chief Ministerial face for Maharashtra should be announced by Friday midnight and caretaker CM Eknath Shinde, will take a big decision in the next 24 hours.

The Shiv Sena leader also asserted that Eknath Shinde will not take any position in the Union cabinet as his interest lies in Maharashtra politics.

On Eknath Shinde heading to his native village in Satara district amid the suspense over the chief ministerial face, the Shiv sena leader said that whenever Eknath Shinde feels that he needs some time to think, he goes to his native village. (ANI)

Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant dismissed speculations of Maharashtra's caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde being 'upset' and said that he will return from his native village tomorrow, November 30, adding that the state cabinet will be finalized soon.

"The reports that he is upset are emerging from the media. We were with Eknath Shinde till early morning. Tomorrow he will be back and it is not as if the meeting takes place physically only, they also take place through video conferencing, mobile. As Eknath Shinde has said the Maharashtra cabinet will be finalised soon," Uday Samant told ANI.

Congress leader Bhai Jagtap, who has drawn fire for his inappropriate remark for the Election Commission told news agency ANI that he will not apologise, "not even a bit".

"If they are working under pressure from the PM and other ministers then what I have said is right. I will not apologise...Election Commission exists to further strengthen the democracy of the country, and not to serve someone. I stand by what I said. Election Commission should work like T.N. Seshan...Democracy is being disreputed because of you," he said.

Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said during a press conference, "The CWC also accepted that the party performance, as indeed that of its MVA allies, in Maharashtra, has been unexplainable and shocking. The electoral outcome is beyond normal understanding, it appears to be a clear case of targetted manipulation."

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat told news agency ANI, "Yesterday the leaders of Maharashtra met at the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah...PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah will decide who will be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra...The name of the Maharashtra CM should be declared by today midnight. I have the information that the oath-taking ceremony will be on 2nd December...Eknath Shinde will not go to Delhi. He is more interested in Maharashtra politics than Delhi politics."

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday urged party workers to begin preparations for the Delhi and Bihar elections due next year, cautioned that a favourable atmosphere ahead of polls does not always translate into victory and called on leaders to identify local issues important for state elections rather than depending on “nation issues and national leaders”.

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Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar also reacted to Congress leader Bhai Jagtap's reported statement on the Election Commission and told news agency ANI, "Election Commission of India is a constitutional authority and he should take strict action against him...He (Bhai Jagtap) should apologise for making such a statement."

Reacting to Congress leader Bhai Jagtap's statement on the Election Commission, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant told news agency ANI, "He should not make such statements...If he thinks that there is some problem with the EVMs, he should opt for random EVM checking. The truth will come out...Action should be taken against such statements."

Disappointed with its defeat in the recently held Maharashtra assembly elections, the Congress on Friday submitted an "urgent memorandum" to the Election Commission of India, raising "grave inconsistencies" in the polls.

The grand old party also urged the poll-governing body to grant an "urgent in-person hearing" to raise all its issues in detail.

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BJP MP Ashok Chavan on Friday took a jibe at the Congress and said that the party should introspect its poor performance in the recently concluded Maharashtra elections.

Chavan, a former Congress leader, said, "Winning is a process in politics so the Congress should introspect."

He clarified that he was not giving advise to his former party but said, "I was in 'vanvaas' for 14 long years (an apparent reference to his removal as CM) and I too have feelings."

Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh reacted to the Congress submitting a memorandum to the Election Commission over the Maharashtra elections and said that the grand old party is yet to recover from the loss it experienced in the polls.

“Therefore, to cover up their defeat, they are not allowing the House to function and are making baseless allegations,” Singh told reporters.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Anand Dubey backed colleague Ambadas Danve's statement and said if an experienced leader like Danve is saying that Uddhav Thackeray as CM face would have benefited the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra, then "it is true".

"Uddhav Thackeray had done a very good job during the time of Covid and it would have benefited us. Congress should consider why they did not declare the CM face. We have already seen that in 2014 BJP fought the election on the face of PM Modi and got the majority...Congress lost the election in Haryana and Maharashtra due to overconfidence," Dubey told news agency ANI.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking at the CWC meeting, said that no arithmetic can justify the results in Maharashtra, adding that poll pundits are confused after MVA's Lok Sabha outcome.

He further said that the grand old party has to improve its poll strategy and evolve new ways to counter propaganda and misinformation.

At the CWC meeting, Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge said, “EVMs have made poll process a suspect,” adding that the Election Commission must ensure free and fair polls.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, speaking at the Congress Working Committee meeting, said that "below expectation performance in state elections is a challenge" for the grand old party.

CPI leader D Raja, speaking to news agency ANI, said, "It is a matter of concern. Elections are over, counting is over and the verdict given by the people is known and BJP and its allies have won the elections. But why? They are not able to choose the leader to lead the government. It shows the internal contradictions which are there among the BJP and its allies."

"Otherwise, they could have chosen the Chief Minister by this time why they are delaying it. It shows there are problems among themselves and maybe there are ideological problems or political problems or personality problems. They are not able to find an acceptable Chief Minister face even today," he added.

D Raja further said, "That is the reality that BJP will have to explain and Mr Shinde will have to explain or Mr Ajit Pawar will have to explain why it is happening. What are the problems? They should tell the people why they are delaying it."

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat on Friday said that Eknath Shinde will certainly go to the central Cabinet as a Union minister. He further said that if Shinde does not accept the deputy CM post, then it will go to someone else from their party.

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The Congress Working Committee meeting is underway at the AICC headquarters in Delhi to discuss the grand old party's poll performance in the Maharashtra as well as Haryana elections.

The meeting is taking place in the presence of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, Lok Sabha leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and other key party leaders.

Shiv Sena MP Naresh Mhaske told news agency ANI that the party is not like Uddhav Thackeray and so it will not leave the alliance for the chief ministerial chair.

"CM Eknath Shinde expressed in a press conference two days ago that we are not interested in the CM's chair. Whatever decision the leaders of Mahayuti take, we stand behind them. We are not Uddhav Thackeray, we will not leave the alliance for the chair," he said.

Mhaske further added, "Yesterday a meeting was held at the residence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in which only the development, prosperity and happiness of Maharashtra was discussed and the way the central government has stood behind the development of the Maharashtra government till now, it should stand behind it in the same way in the future as well. This request was made to Home Minister Amit Shah on behalf of the people of Maharashtra."

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has raised doubts over the voter turnout data provided by the Election Commission of India.

Speaking to ANI, he said, "Election Commission, at 5 pm (20th November) when they showed the voting percentage, it was 58%, at 11:59 pm, the number was 65.2%, so the question is there would have long queue...where were those long queues, we have sought such videos from Election Commission."

"Next day 3 pm, they tweeted that 66.5% voting took place, which means by next day they increased the voting percentage by 1.3%...we want to ask Election Commission, where did this voting happen?" Patole added.

Maharashtra CM live updates: Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande confirmed that all appointments made by CM Eknath Shinde were cancelled today. She stated that discussions regarding government formation were progressing positively. Sources from Shiv Sena mentioned that CM Shinde had travelled to his hometown, Dare, near Mahabaleshwar in Satara.

Maharashtra CM live updates: Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis returned to Mumbai on Friday morning after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah along with NCP's Ajit Pawar to discuss the formation of the Maharashtra government.

Speaking to reporters late Thursday night in Delhi, Shinde described the talks as “good and positive,” adding that another meeting would be held in Mumbai on Friday.

The next meeting is anticipated later in the day, although no specific time has been confirmed, according to sources.

Ajit Pawar is expected to reach Mumbai by the afternoon.

Maharashtra CM live updates: Eknath Shinde described his meeting with Amit Shah and JP Nadda as "good and positive."

"We all discussed government formation. There is strong coordination among the allies, and we are all optimistic. We will honour the clear mandate given to us by the people and form the government soon," he stated.

"The meeting was good and positive. This was the first meeting. Another Mahayuti meeting will be held in Mumbai," Shinde told reporters on Friday morning.

The Shiv Sena leader emphasized that the people of Maharashtra have re-elected them with a decisive majority, and their top priority is respecting the mandate, not "chasing posts."

Maharashtra CM live updates: A total of 78 first-time winners will join the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, making up about 27% of its total strength. Of these, 33 are from the BJP, 14 from Shiv Sena, and 8 from the NCP. The Shiv Sena (UBT) has 10 newcomers, while 6 first-timers are from Congress and 4 from NCP (SP). Additionally, two winners from smaller parties and an independent candidate will also debut in the Assembly. First-time winners secured 9 out of Mumbai’s 36 seats, including Sena (UBT) candidates Mahesh Sawant, who triumphed over MNS chief Raj Thackeray’s son Amit Thackeray, and Varun Desai, who defeated NCP’s Zeeshan Siddique in Vandre East.

Maharashtra CM live updates: Eknath Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, held a late-night meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President JP Nadda on Thursday to finalise a power-sharing agreement for the upcoming government in Maharashtra after the BJP-led coalition secured a decisive majority in the Assembly elections.

"We will take a decision (on Maharashtra CM) in a day or two. We have held discussions, and the discussions will continue. You will get to know when we take a final decision," Shinde stated.

He also said that he would not hinder the process of government formation and would fully adhere to the decision made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Amit Shah.