Shinde steps down; no clarity on who will be CM

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Tuesday stepped down as Maharashtra Chief Minister, even as the suspense over who will succeed him as the new CM continued, three days after state assembly election results were announced. In Delhi, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said the BJP leadership has decided to make Devendra Fadnavis as the CM for the third time, but there was no confirmation on this from the BJP.

Shinde and Fadnavis were together early Tuesday morning at an event in the Mumbai police commissioner's office to pay tributes to martyrs of the 26/11 terror attack, but hardly exchanged a word.

Shinde's resignation came amid a growing chorus from within his Shiv Sena party that he continue in the post as the assembly elections were fought and won under his leadership. Accompanied by deputy chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, Shinde met Governor C P Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan earlier in the day to submit his resignation as the chief minister. The Governor then requested Shinde to continue in a caretaker role until the new chief minister is sworn in, a Raj Bhavan official said.

The outgoing assembly's term concluded on Tuesday, adding urgency to the transition process.

The ruling Mahayuti coalition showed an impressive performance in the recent assembly elections, where it secured a commanding 230 out of 288 seats.

Kesarkar said while Shiv Sena cadre wants the next CM to be from their party, the ultimate decision will rest with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, which they will accept. Meanwhile, BJP sources told PTI that the party would not rush into announcing its chief ministerial candidate until the distribution of portfolios in the new state government is finalised.