Maharashtra government formation decision will be taken today after meeting with Amit Shah, says Ajit Pawar

NCP's Ajit Pawar who is part of the Mahayuti alliance said that the Maharashtra government formation decision will be taken at around 9 PM after meeting with Amit Shah in New Delhi.

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday reiterated that no "formula" was being discussed for the chief minister's post and the Mahayuti partners will take a decision after meeting with Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi. In the state poll results declared on November 23, the Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena and NCP, bagged an impressive 230 of the 288 assembly seats. It is almost certain that BJP leader and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis is going to occupy the top post for the third time, as his party bagged 132 of the 149 seats it contested.

Maharashtra caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday said he will “fully support” BJP leadership’s decision to name the next CM, adding that he won’t be a hurdle in the process. Shinde’s announcement makes the decks clear for the BJP to name Devendra Fadnavis as the CM for the third time, a senior BJP leader said.

On Opposition's EVM rant 

"In the parliament election, EVM was fine because the result was in their (Maha Vikas Aghadi) favour. In assembly elections, the result is different and hence they are blaming the EVM..."

Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a setback. The grand old party registered one of its worst performances in the state assembly polls after it won only 16 seats. Sharad Pawar's NCP(SP) won just 10 seats, whereas Uddhav Thackeray's (UBT) won 20 seats.