Eknath Shinde to be Mahayuti's CM face for Maharashtra polls? What Fadnavis said

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis hinted on Wednesday that Eknath Shinde could be the chief minister's face for ruling the Mahayuti government in the coming state assembly elections.

Addressing a joint press conference with Eknath Shinde and deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis said that the ruling Mahayuti does not need to announce the candidate for the chief ministerial post “as our chief minister is sitting here”.

The three were releasing the Mahayuti government's report card during their joint press conference in Mumbai.

“The Mahayuti doesn't have to announce a CM face, our chief minister is sitting here,” Fadnavis was quoted as saying by ANI. "I challenge Pawar Saheb (Sharad Pawar) to announce their face for the CM post."

"Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) is not announcing CM face as they don't think their CM can come after elections," Fadnavis added.

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Last month, Sharad Pawar had said there was no need for the MVA to announce a chief ministerial candidate ahead of the election and the coalition would contest under a collective leadership.

"There is no hurdle anywhere by not announcing the CM's face. No need to think about it now. Who should lead should be decided according to the numbers. There is no need to make any arrangements before elections," Pawar said, according to ANI.

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Maharashtra will go to polls in a single phase on November 20 and the results will be declared on November 23.

‘Our work is the face of our alliance’: Eknath Shinde

Meanwhile, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde said that the work and performance of his government in the last two years is the face of the Mahayuti alliance. He also challenged the MVA to announce a chief ministerial face.

"Our two years of work and performance is the face of our alliance. The MVA should announce their face as the leader of the opposition," Shinde said.

He added: "We are presenting our two years performance card. This is not an easy thing to present your report card after two years of your government because to produce such a detailed report card, the government has to perform well."

(With inputs from ANI)