Eknath Shinde resigns as Maharashtra Chief Minister, to continue as caretaker CM

Mangalore Today News Network

Mumbai, November 26, 2024: Eknath Shinde resigned as Maharashtra Chief Minister on Tuesday, after he called on Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan and submitted his resignation.

Shinde (60) has been asked to continue as the caretaker CM till the new government is in place.

Shinde, the chief leader of the Shiv Sena who headed the Maha Yuti dispensation, submitted the papers on Tuesday when the term of the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly came to an end.

Shinde was appointed CM on June 30, 2022, after he toppled the erstwhile Sharad Pawar-crafted Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government.

Along with Shinde, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis had been sworn in as Deputy CM.

A year later, NCP’s Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy CM on July 2, 2023, after he rebelled against his uncle and mentor Sharad Pawar.

In the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the Shinde-Fadnavis-Pawar coalition suffered a heavy jolt from the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi-I.N.D.I.A. bloc.

However, in Vidhan Sabha polls, the Maha Yuti scored a two-third majority with BJP winning 132 seats, Shiv Sena 57, and NCP 41.

The government formation efforts are under way now.

While Shinde wants the Bihar pattern to be followed at least in the form of a rotational CM, Ajit Pawar, who too harbours CM ambitions, has backed Fadnavis as the new CM over Shinde.

Meanwhile, BJP’s ideological fountainhead RSS has also backed Fadnavis as the CM.

Fadnavis (54), who is a two-time CM and ex-Leader of the Opposition, is the architect of Maha Yuti-NDA sweep in the polls.

Among the three, the ministerial experience of Pawar (65), a five time Deputy CM, is the most.