Next Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be from Shiv Sena: Sanjay Raut

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Tuesday asserted that the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra will be from Shiv Sena only.

Addressing a press conference, Raut said, "The Chief Minister will be from Shiv Sena only. The face and politics of Maharashtra are changing, you will see. What you call 'hungama' (commotion), is not 'hungama'. It is a fight for justice and rights and the victory will be ours."

Raut played coy upon being asked about rumours of Shiv Sena forming a government with the support of Nationalist Congress Party and Congress. The NCP won 54 and Congress won 44 assembly seats.

"The decision of Maharashtra will be taken here only. Uddhav Ji will do it. Have Sharad Pawar or Sonia Gandhi come out with a statement? In politics, rumours fly everywhere and there are also people who peddle rumours. That is all I have to say on this matter," Raut said.

After meeting the Maharashtra Governor on Monday, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut stated that his party was not an obstacle in the formation of any government in Maharashtra.

"We are not an obstacle in the formation of the government of any party. Whosoever has the majority can form the government," Raut said.

This comes when the BJP and the Shiv Sena are engaged in back-channel negotiations on the government formation and a positive outcome is expected to be announced in a few days, said BJP sources.

"The positive direction of backchannel talks has put an end to speculation about the government formation," they said.

Sources also confirmed that initially, 12 to 14 MLAs will take oath as Cabinet ministers along with Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Shiv Sena has said that the two parties had a '50-50' power-sharing agreement before the elections but Fadnavis has clarified that Shiv Sena was not promised the post of minister for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was sealed before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP has emerged as the single largest party by winning 105 seats in the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly polls while the Shiv Sena has got 56 seats in the 288-member state Assembly.