Fadnavis says he suggested Eknath for CM in Maharastra

Nagpur: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he suggested to BJP to make Eknath Shinde the chief minister of Maharashtra. He added he was also not mentally prepared to become the deputy CM, but discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP national president JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah changed his decision, PTI reported.

"It was also decided that I would stay out of the government. But BJP president JP Nadda called me and said the party had decided (to make me the deputy chief minister). Even Union Home Minister Amit Shah also spoke to me," Mr Fadnavis said. "I changed my decision obeying the orders of my leaders," he added.

The Maha Vikas Aghadi government led by Shiv Sena CM Uddhav Thakeray fell last week after minister Eknath Shinde and several other MLAs rebelled.

According to him, the BJP leadership wanted him to be a part of the government since it is not right to run the government through an "extra-constitutional authority".

He told media at Nagpur that the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance had won the 2019 elections, but the mandate was "stolen". Therefore, BJP and Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction joined for a "common ideology and not for power".

"Our leaders Narendra Modi ji, Amit Shah and JP Nadda ji, and with my approval (the decision to make Shinde the chief minister was taken).... It will not be wrong if it is said that I took this proposal (to the BJP leadership) that Shinde is made the chief minister, and they (the leadership) accepted it," Fadnavis said.

On June 30, a day after Thackeray resigned from office, Shinde was sworn in as CM and Fadnavis as deputy CM, but ahead of the floor test.