Ajit Pawar’s power play, backs Devendra Fadnavis for Chief Minister: Sources

Ajit Pawar is rooting for fellow Deputy Chief Minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis to be the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra, sources told India Today.
Pawar convened a meeting with newly-elected NCP legislators at his residence on Sunday, where he reportedly shared his support for Fadnavis.
On Saturday, sources said that Eknath Shinde staked claim to the Chief Minister’s post, citing the “Ladli bahin” scheme – said to be one of the key drivers of Mahayuti’s stupendous electoral success in Maharashtra – as his brainchild.
So, what explains Ajit Pawar’s decision to back Devendra Fadnavis as the next Chief Minister?
Ever since the Shiv Sena (then united), joined the NCP and Congress’s Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance and formed a government in 2019, relations between Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde have been fraught.
The genesis of the split in Shiv Sena in 2022 is said to lie in Eknath Shinde’s displeasure over his then-boss Uddhav Thackeray vesting Ajit Pawar with significant authority in the state administration. Thackeray’s infrequent presence at Mantralaya (state secretariat) allowed Ajit Pawar to dominate the bureaucracy. This is said to have led to friction between Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray, ultimately leading the former to break away from the party with a big chunk of the MLAs and form a government with the BJP in 2022. The entry of Ajit Pawar – who also later revolted against his uncle Sharad Pawar and formed the breakaway NCP faction last year – into the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance naturally didn’t go down well with Eknath Shinde.
However, the final decision on who will be the next Chief Minister would be taken only after a joint meeting of senior leaders of the Shinde Sena, NCP (Ajit Pawar) and the BJP high command.
The BJP dominated the race in Maharashtra, winning 132 of the 149 seats it contested, while the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) totted 57 and Ajit Pawar’s NCP 41. In contrast, the Congress was able to secure victory in just 16 seats, the Shiv Sena (UBT) in 20 and the NCP (SP) in 10.
With the BJP winning 133 of Mahayuti’s 234 seats, questions remain over whether Devendra Fadnavis will be named Chief Minister or if he will again serve as deputy to Eknath Shinde, whose Shiv Sena holds just 57 seats. The decision is yet to be seen.