Next CM will be from BJP: Sudhir Mungantiwar

Mumbai: Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Monday insisted that the next chief minister of Maharashtra would be from his party despite the Shiv Sena’s constant refrain that the saffron allies would share the post.

“The next CM will be from the BJP after the upcoming polls. There is no discontent in the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance over this. We will even cross 220 seats this time,” said Mr Mungantiwar in Nashik on Monday.

After the BJP and the Shiv Sena decided to bury the hatchet and fight the Lok Sabha polls together, Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray announced before his party workers that both parties had agreed to share power and the chief minister’s post after the Assembly poll.

However, after the Lok Sabha polls, BJP leaders started singing a different tune, stating that the chief minister would be from their party alone.

“The final decision on seat sharing for the Assembly polls will be taken soon. Leaders of both parties are working on this… We will work hard to ensure the victory of our allies,” Mr Mungantiwar said.

The Shiv Sena, however, downplayed the minister’s claims. In a statement, the party said  that there was no need to give too much importance to Mr Mungantiwar’s statement.