Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Saturday thanked voters for the landslide Mahayuti victory during the 2024 Maharashtra assembly elections.

“I thank the voters of Maharashtra because this is a landslide victory. I had said that Mahayuti will get a thumping majority and that is why I thank Ladli Bahina, farmers, brothers, senior citizens and all sections of the society. People have approved the work done by the Mahayuti during the last two-and-a-half years,” Shinde said, reacting to his own victory as well as the victory of his BJP-backed Mahayuti alliance.

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Yet, the million dollar question which is on everybody’s mind is whether Eknath Shinde will continue to remain the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. The question remains unanswered by both Shinde as well as the Mahayuti.

Even after being specifically asked about whether he would remain the CM, all that Shinde did was merely smile and say, “We will make a collective decision regarding the chief ministerial post”.

However, a member of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena leaders reluctantly admitted on condition of anonymity, “When Shinde had led the Shiv Sena split and mutiny which led to the toppling of the Uddhav Thackeray-led government, Devendra Fadnavis had made peace by accepting the Deputy CM’s post. However, with such a huge landslide victory and a strong BJP, it is unlikely that Fadnavis will be magnanimous this time. But there will surely be hard bargaining and compromises.”

This time around, Shinde does not seem to have many bargaining chips or leverage, especially considering the fact that the Ajit Pawar’s NCP has performed well and the BJP needs merely one of its two allies to be in power. Even after using every known political trick in the book, at best Shinde can hope to be Deputy CM or Number 2, according to a BJP leader.

As things stand, it is worth recalling how senior BJP leader and Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said earlier this November that the decision on who would be Maharashtra chief minister will be made by Mahayuti partners after the Maharashtra elections.

“At present, Eknath Shinde is the Chief Minister. After the elections, all the three alliance partners will decide on the CM post,” Shah had said on November 10 and in a show of unity, the Shinde-led Shiv Sena had claimed that it was okay with a chief minister from the BJP.

That is most likely to be a stand which Eknath Shinde may be forced to accept, especially if his party is given a few plum posts by Fadnavis