Mumbai: Shrikant Shinde, son of Maharashtra’s caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde, on Monday ruled himself out from the race for the post of deputy chief minister. Shrikant’s clarification came amidst some reports suggesting that he might join the Maharashtra government while his father will move to Delhi. Shiv Sena legislator Bharat Gogavale said that initially Eknath Shinde did not want to join the state cabinet, but the party insisted that he should be part of the government.
“The swearing-in ceremony of the Mahayuti government has been delayed, which has led to a surge in discussions and rumours. Honourable caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde had to take rest at his native place for two days due to health issues. As a result, the rumors have only intensified. There have been speculations about me becoming the deputy chief minister, but these news reports are baseless and unfounded,” Shrikant, who is a Lok Sabha member from Kalyan, said.
Claiming that he is not interested in any post in the state or central governments, Shirkant said, “Even after the Lok Sabha elections, I had the opportunity to take up a ministerial position in the central government. However, I decided to work for the party organisaton and declined that offer. I have no desire for any position in the government. I am not a part of any race for a ministerial post in the state government, and I would like to clarify this once again. I will continue to work diligently for my Lok Sabha constituency and for the Shiv Sena party.”
Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde cancelled his meetings on Monday due to his health issues. Shiv Sena officials said Mr. Shinde is down with a throat infection and fever because of which doctors have asked him to take complete rest.
Mr. Shinde along with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and NCP chief Ajit Pawar had visited Delhi last Thursday to discuss government formation with Union home minister Amit Shah and BJP’s national president J.P. Nadda. After returning from Delhi, Mr. Shinde went to his native place in Satara district, where he stayed for two days. He returned to his home at Thane on Sunday, but did not return to CM’s official residence ‘Varsha’ in Mumbai.
After returning from his native place, Mr. Shinde said the BJP will decide on the new CM through consensus and assured his full support while ruling out differences among Mahayuti allies.
According to reports, Mr. Shinde has insisted on the home ministry, which the BJP does not want to part with. This has led to delay in the government formation. However, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat said that Mr. Shinde is not a hindrance in the formation of the Mahayuti government. “After so much clarification, it is wrong to blame Mr. Shinde for the delay in government formation. Neither Mr. Shinde nor Shiv Sena has made any demands. The decision taken by senior leaders over the chief ministerial candidate will be acceptable to us. As far as cabinet portfolios are concerned, they will be decided after a meeting between Mr. Fadnavis, Mr. Shinde and Mr. Pawar,” he said.
After it has become clear that Mr. Fadnavis will become the CM, Shiv Sena workers have put up banners outside Mr. Shinde’s residence at Thane, hailing him as a “common man”.
