Statistically Speaking: How Do Numbers Stack Up If Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar Join MVA

India

oi-Gaurav Sharma

Updated: Friday, November 29, 2024, 21:08 [IST]

Elections
in
Maharashtra
are
over,
but
suspense
on
the
name
of
Chief
Minister
of
the
state
remains
uncovered.
BJP
emerged
as
the
single
largest
party
in
the
288-member
assembly
election
with
132
winning
candidates.
The
Mahayuti
alliance
comprising
BJP,
Shiv
Sena
and
NCP
(Ajit
Pawar)
contested
the
Maharashtra
election
under
the
leadership
of
Eknath
Shinde,
but
now,
it
seems
that
the
BJP
will
move
Eknath
Shinde
aside.

His
party,
Shiv
Sena,
won
57
seats.
While,
the
third
alliance
partner,
NCP
Ajit
Pawar,
clinched
41.

Before
the
assembly
elections,
everything
was
good,
well-planned,
and
perfectly
coordinated
between
Mahayuti’s
top
3
leaders.

But
soon
after
the
Maharashtra
election
results
were
announced,
speculations
started
to
surface
that
BJP’s
Devendra
Fadnavis
will
be
the
next
Chief
Minister,
resulting
in
rumours
that
Eknath
Shinde
faction
is
not
happy.

However,
Eknath
Shinde
in
his
presser
clearly
said
that
he
will
accept
PM
Narendra
Modi’s
decision.
But
reports
suggest
that
the
Shinde
fraction
is
demanding
top
ministries
including
Home
Affairs,
Finance,
and
Urban
Development
in
exchange
for
the
CM’s
post,
which
is
not
acceptable
to
the
BJP
and
Ajit
Pawar
group.

Mahayuti’s
Thursday’s
4-hour
meeting
at
Home
Minister
Amit
Shah’s
residence
also
ended
with
no
result.
Another
high-level
meeting
was
scheduled
for
Saturday,
November
30,
but
reportedly
unhappy
Eknath
Shinde
has
decided
to
skip
the
meet
and
has
left
for
his
village
Satara.

Amid
all
the
ruckus,
Maharashtra
election
results
have
started
to
trend
on
the
internet
again,
claiming
that
if
Eknath
Shinde
and
Ajit
Pawar
decide
to
rejoin
Maha
Vikas
Aghadi
(MVA),
then
the
Opposition
may
form
the
government.

What
Statistics
Say:

To
form
a
government
in
the
288-member
Maharashtra
assembly,
the
required
number
is
145.
Eknath
Shinde
has
57
MLAs,
while
41
members
of
Ajit
Pawar’s
NCP
claimed
victory.
MVA
members
Congress,
Shiv
Sena
(UBT),
and
NCP
(Sharad
Pawar)
have
16,
20,
and
10
members
respectively.

2
Samajwadi
Party
MLAs
are
also
standing
with
MVA
aka
INDIA
bloc.

This
takes
the
total
to
146,
one
more
than
the
majority
mark.

But
the
big
question
that
still
remains
unanswered
is

“Will
Eknath
Shinde
and
Ajit
Pawar
switch
sides
to
form
MVA’s
government”?
If
they
don’t
get
portfolios
of
their
choice.