Two candidates are in a running for the post of Maharashtra Chief Minister

Maharashtra Assembly Elections results are out and Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister and former CM, and Eknath Shinde have emerged as top contenders.

BJP workers were seen celebrating their win in the Maharashtra Assembly Elections in and around the state. The Bharatiya Janata Party-led Mahayuti alliance registered a landslide victory in the elections, securing over 230 of the state’s 288 seats. This has now all eyes on who will take on the reigns as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra – incumbent CM Eknath Shinde or BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis.

Mahayuti registers a landslide win in the Maharashtra elections.

The Mahayuti, an alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) won over the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), which managed just 46 seats. The BJP emerged as the largest party, leading in 132 seats, followed by Shiv Sena (57) and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction (41). On the other hand, MVA’s Congress and Shiv Sena (UBT) were leading in 20 seats each, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) led in 16 constituencies.

Who will lead as the CM of Maharashtra?

The focus now is on the leadership question with Devendra Fadnavis, deputy chief minister and former CM, and Eknath Shinde, the current chief minister emerging as strong contenders. Backing Fadnavis, senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil said, “Our central parliamentary board would decide who the CM would be. However, if asked, we would unanimously say that Devendra Fadnavis should be the chief minister.”

The final decision on Maharashtra’s next CMis expected after consultations within the BJP’s central parliamentary board.