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Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has said Union minister Amit Shah told him that if they had given a word to Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray of making a party leader as the CM in 2019, why would they go back on it.
Speaking late Saturday night after a function in Thane district, Shinde also said he will soon visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
He also said the state cabinet would soon be expanded further.
Shinde said the first expansion of the cabinet, done on Tuesday, 41 days after he took oath was the CM, was delayed due to various factors, including some equations and calculations, and the situation in which his government was formed (in June this year).
“In making me the chief minister, senior BJP leaders have shown they have a big heart. The BJP is not always after power,” he said.
Shinde said he had met Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
“During the discussion, Shah told me that we made Nitish Kumar the chief minister of Bihar when his party JD(U) had less numbers than the BJP. In Maharashtra, if we have given a word to you (Sena), why would we go back on it,” Shinde said.
After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections, when the BJP won 105 seats and the Sena bagged 56 seats, Thackeray had claimed the BJP did not keep its promise of rotating the chief ministerial post with the Sena.
The Shiv Sena later tied-up with the NCP and Congress to form government in the state.
Shinde said people of Maharashtra had given a clear mandate to the then BJP-Sena alliance, but things were not good later on.
“I had explained to Uddhav Thackeray about the problems many times, but in vain. I had also told him that in such a situation, we cannot face voters in future,” he said.
Shinde further said he had not revolted against the Sena leadership in June to become the CM.
He said he still feels like a Sena activist and wants the state to progress and people’s problems to be addressed.
The Thackeray-led government had collapsed in June after Shinde and 39 other legislators revolted. Shinde was on June 30 sworn in as the CM and BJP’s Fadnavis as his deputy.
Shinde did not reply when asked why he was not made the CM or his name did not feature in the list of probables in 2019.
He also refused to comment on if Thackeray made a mistake by becoming the CM.
Shinde said the people’s love and affection was the reply to criticism he faced after revolting against the Sena leadership.
“We had the teachings of (Sena founder) Balasaheb Thackeray and (Shinde’s mentor) Anand Dighe to fight against injustice,” he said.
