Devendra Fadnavis has worked diligently; I will be happy if he becomes Chief Minister: Chhagan Bhujbal

Pune: The State Assembly election results were declared on November 23. The Maha Yuti got a massive mandate and is poised to form the new government.

However, the central leadership of the BJP is still not able to decide the Chief Minister’s face. Initially, it appeared that there was a tussle between the Shiv Sena (BT) and the BJP over the post. But later, caretaker CM Eknath Shinde said that he would accept any name decided by PM Narendra Modi and Union Minister Amit Shah. Thus, the matter appeared to be sorted out.

However, senior politician Chhagan Bhujabal on Thursday said that he would be happy to see Devendra Fadnavis as the CM as he has worked hard during his tenure. He said, “I expect a Chief Minister who protects the interests of the poor rather than naming an OBC face as the Chief Minister. The BJP will have the Chief Minister’s post. Devendra Fadnavis has worked well in the past some years. He should have been made the CM earlier. However, the party instructed him to work as the DyCM, which he carried out well and diligently. I wish him well. If Dada (Ajit Pawar) is named the CM, that will also be good. But the BJP got 132 MLAs elected. Therefore, they will have the post.”

Criticising Manoj Jarange Patil again, Bhujbal said, “Had we won with the help of EVM, I should have got over one lakh votes. My margin of victory should have gone up but it came down. Manoj Jarange Patil Saheb visited villages on the eve of voting day and spread casteism. Therefore, my margin is reduced.”

When asked to comment on Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut, he said that Raut will not have any other job for the next five years. He would have to continue criticising others during this period.