MUMBAI: The newly elected members of the
BJP will meet on Wednesday to elect the leader of the legislative party, said the party office on Saturday.
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to be the undisputed leader, as he has been endorsed by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party national president Amit Shah.
The BJP secured 105 seats as against 122 in 2014 and is far short of the halfway mark. Its ally
Shiv Sena, which won 56 seats, is seeking to get itself the best bargain and is negotiating hard, demanding an equal share in power with a 2.5-year chief ministership. The BJP is loath to share the chief minister’s post.
In New Delhi, BJP state incharge Saroj Pandey said there was no 50-50 power-sharing formula discussed before the election, as claimed by the Shiv Sena. Pandey said even after the election there has been no discussion on such a formula.
The party national presidents are to take a decision after Diwali. She emphasised that the chief minister would be from the BJP.
On Friday, Fadnavis, while speaking to the media, had indicated that he was not happy with the results. He had said that a hardworking student looking for the top rank had ended up with just a first class result.
“We prepared for merit but ended with first class result,” he said. Prior to the election, the party had been confident of securing a majority on its own and had declared the alliance would bag 220 seats.