Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, one of the two central observers of the BJP for its legislature party meet in Maharashtra, on Monday asserted efforts will be made to unanimously elect a leader and said he feels the neighbouring state will get a "BJP CM".
Earlier in the day, the BJP, which heads the ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra, named Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Rupani as central observers for its legislature party meeting in Mumbai, where the MLAs will elect their leader.
"Maharashtra BJP legislature party's meeting will be held either on Tuesday or Wednesday. Efforts will be made to unanimously elect a leader in that meeting of BJP MLAs. I and Sitharamanji will attend the meeting as observers and submit a report to the high command for the declaration of a leader, who may eventually become the CM if such a formula is finalised," said Rupani at his residence in Rajkot.
"I have a feeling that Maharashtra will get a BJP chief minister this time around since (outgoing CM) Eknath Shinde has made it clear that he will back the party's candidate (for the top post)," he maintained.
The crucial meeting of newly-elected BJP MLAs will be held on Wednesday morning in Vidhan Bhawan in south Mumbai, a party functionary said in the financial capital.
The BJP has already announced that Maharashtra's new chief minister will take oath on December 5 evening at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders of the saffron party and its allies.
Though the party has not made any formal announcement, Devendra Fadnavis, a two-time former chief minister and deputy CM in the outgoing Mahayuti government, is widely seen as the frontrunner for the top post.
The BJP's two main allies in the Mahayuti coalition, the Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), are each tipped to be given deputy CM positions in the new government.
Caretaker Chief Minister Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena, has already made it clear he will abide by the top BJP brass' decision on the chief minister's post.
In the November 20 Maharashtra polls, the Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 assembly seats. The BJP led with 132 seats followed by the Shiv Sena (57) and NCP (41).
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