Maharashtra: Soon after Eknath Shinde said that he has left the decision about Chief Minister's post upto Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule heaped praise on the Shiv Sena chief.
Shinde is now serving as caretaker CM after his resignation from the post on Tuesday following Mahayuti's landslide victory in the Maharashtra Assembly election.
On Wednesday, breaking his silence amid ongoing speculations over who will become the next CM, Shinde said that he spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as Union Home Minister Amit Shah and told them that he wouldn't be an obstacle in forming the government and will abide by their decision.
Reacting to Sena Chief's remarks while addressing a press conference in Nagur, Chandrashekhar Bawankule thanked ally Eknath Shinde for stating that the decision of the top BJP leadership on the next chief minister of the state would be acceptable to him.
Bawankule also slammed the opposition for trying to spread rumours and cast aspersions on Shinde's character.
"I want to thank Shinde. He today made clear his stand on the chief minister's post. He has taken an important stand. I am proud of him," the BJP leader said.
Bawankule also praised Shinde for his commitment to Maharashtra's progress, highlighting his role in the completion of the Nagpur-Mumbai Samruddhi Expressway.
"He took a lot of efforts for the betterment of Maharashtra. He did a good job as chief minister," Bawankule added. Shinde, as a Shiv Sena leader, must have felt a lot of pain when Uddhav Thackeray, then head of the united Shiv Sena, severed his alliance with the BJP in 2019, he said.
As CM, Shinde demonstrated the true power of a "double-engine" government, Bawankule added.
He also lauded Shinde's willingness to collaborate and prioritise the state's development over personal ambitions. "Whatever we asked as an ally, he accepted our demands and respected our expectations," the BJP leader said.
Congress, which is part of the Opposition's Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), had eight candidates for the CM post before the elections, he said. "MVA constituents were contesting elections to become CM, and we were fighting for the betterment of 14 crore people of Maharashtra," he said.
