'If Shinde remained stubborn ...': Sanjay Raut on BJP's 'plan' in Maharashtra

Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday claimed that Eknath Shinde had to take oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister because the BJP's top brass planned to go ahead with the new government's swearing-in if he continued being "stubborn".

Talking to reporters in New Delhi, Raut said the state government did not have a full cabinet so far despite the Mahayuti getting a thumping majority indicates that not everything is well within the alliance.

He said it took as many as 15 days for the BJP to form the government in Maharashtra despite having a massive mandate.

"Eknath Shinde had to take oath as deputy chief minister. BJP had planned to go ahead with the swearing-in ceremony without Eknath Shinde. Had he maintained the stubborn attitude to pressure the BJP, its brass had informed (the state leadership) to go ahead without him," Raut claimed.

BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister of the state for the third time in a grand ceremony held at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday evening. Former chief minister Ekanth Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy chief ministers. The event was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union ministers and chief ministers of NDA-ruled states.

Shinde was earlier unwilling to serve as the deputy CM, but joined after insistence from the BJP and his party MLAs. He had maintained silence whether he would be part of the new government or not. It was only a few hours before the swearing-in ceremony that a Shiv Sena MLA confirmed that Shinde would take oath as the deputy CM.

Raut accused the BJP of indulging in "politics of vengeance" in the state by using central agencies.

In a veiled attack on Shinde, the Sena (UBT) MP also said that some faces were not happy during the swearing-in ceremony. "The same faces were glum when Uddhav Thackeray took oath as chief minister in 2019," he said.