BJP to Pick Legislature Leader Tomorrow

Bharatiya Janata Party legislators from around Maharashtra have begun to arrive in Mumbai, a day ahead of the party’s crucial meeting to elect the legislature party group leader.  

The meeting slated for December 4 comes amid a rising chorus calling for Devendra Fadnavis to take the reins as Maharashtra’s next chief minister.

In a first, legislators--from first-time MLAs to senior legislators--are visiting the BJP headquarters in south Mumbai to “understand the modalities” ahead of the meeting.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani will act as observers for Wednesday’s meeting and subsequently submit a report on the election for legislature party group leader.

“The legislators want Devendra Fadnavis, the architect of the BJP’s role in the landslide MahaYuti victory, to become the CM. They will likely elect him to the post of the legislature party group leader on Wednesday,” legislator Amit Satam said.

“We want him to become CM,” a first-time legislator chimed in.

One four-term legislator said Fadnavis’s role in “calming the rebels” and campaigning tirelessly for candidates from the MahaYuti alliance and not just from the BJP as qualifiers made him the top choice for the CM’s role.

“Fadnavis is an ace administrator. The state has already seen this when he was CM from 2014 to 2019,” he said, adding that Fadnavis is expected to bring his magic into play ahead of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections.

“Under his chief ministership, the state government will make all efforts for Maharashtra to become a $1 trillion economy and also overcome fiscal challenges, especially in the wake of rising revenue and fiscal deficits and public debt,” he said.

Fadnavis also enjoys the support of the RSS, which is very important for him to become CM, he added.

—With agency input