Amid the political uncertainty in the Maharashtra state, smaller NDA parties in Maharashtra have iterated their open support to the candidature of Devendra Fadnavis as the Chief Minister.
Speaking at a press conference in Mumbai on Thursday, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said that all the smaller parties of the NDA alliance are comfortable with Devendra Fadnavis as CM’s choice. The parties that backed Fadnavis include the leaders of the Republican Party of India, Mahadeo Jankar of Rashtriya Samaj Paksha, Vinayak Mete of Shiv Sangram, Sada Bhau Khot of Swabhimani Paksha.
These parties earlier had a meeting at Suruchi Building in Mumbai on Thursday. The meeting did not saw the participation of BJP and Shiv Sena. The meeting was held to lend support to the BJP.
An interesting fact about these smaller parties is that the candidates of these allies fought the polls on BJP ticket.
The meeting finally saw the passage of a resolution that congratulated Devendra Fadnavis for being elected as the leader of the BJP legislative party. It also called for supporting Devendra Fadnavis as CM.
भाजप च्या विधिमंडळ नेते पदी @Dev_Fadnavis यांची निवड झाल्याबद्दल त्यांचे मी रिपब्लिकन पार्टी आँफ इंडिया चा वतीने अभिनदंन केले. pic.twitter.com/FZFb6QL6EK
— Dr.Ramdas Athawale (@RamdasAthawale) October 30, 2019
As quoted by ANI, Ramdas Athawale said, “Mahayuti (BJP-Shiv Sena alliance) has got a clear majority. Yesterday, Devendra Fadnavis was elected BJP legislative leader. We have decided to support his name for the chief minister as he is the only front runner for us. We want one chief minister who continues for the entire five-year term“.
On being asked about the candidature of Aaditya Thackeray as chief minister, Ramdas Athawale said, “Aditya Thackeray is Uddhav Ji’s son and we have respect for him. But for now, Devendra Fadnavis is the right candidate as BJP is the larger party. Shiv Sena should be given good portfolios. I can’t say about the future of Aditya but for now, Fadnavis is our only Chief Minister’s choice.” (ANI source)
Previously, many independent candidates have extended support to the saffron party and Shiv Sena differently.
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