Maharashtra CM suspense: Anjali Damania's 'Shinde will be Oppn leader' swipe as ex-CM out of hospital

Anjali Damania, a politician in the Indian state of Maharashtra, has suggested that Eknath Shinde might become the leader of the opposition (LoP) in Maharashtra as all eyes are set on who will be the next chief minister.

Shinde, who is currently the caretaker CM until a new one is appointed, had said that his party, the Shiv Sena, would support the decisions of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah to name the next CM.

What did Damania say?

In a post on X, Damania, a former AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) leader who has now formed her own political front, said on Monday (Dec. 2) that she told her party workers about a conversation she had with a journalist.

Damania said that Shinde, who supported the BJP a few days back, suddenly went to his native village and got sick.

"There's something wrong," Damania said.

She further added that the aforementioned journalist told her that the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) strategy would make them (Shiv Sena) sit in the opposition, and the LoP belongs to the party. 

Shinde gets discharged from Thane hospital

Eknath Shinde headed to his native village of Dare in Satara last Friday (November 29) amid speculations that he was not happy with the way the new government was shaping up.

However, he said two days later that he comes to Dare regularly and wondered why there should be any confusion (over his visit) when he cleared his stand on the CM’s post last week.

“I always come to my village. Why should there be any confusion when I have already made my stand clear last week? I have already said the decision on CM’s post taken by the BJP leadership will be acceptable to me and Shiv Sena and will have my full backing,” he added.

On Tuesday, Shinde was rushed to the Jupiter Hospital in Thane as his health condition showed no signs of improvement, the news agency ANI reported. 

On being asked about his health condition, Shinde told reporters, “Badhiya hai.” (It's good.) He was later discharged from the hospital

The upcoming govt formation

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a landslide victory in the assembly polls. The BJP won 132 seats out of the total 280, while the Shiv Sena (led by Shinde) won 57 seats and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar won 41 seats.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar had clarified that the next CM would be from the BJP, and the two deputy CMs would be from the NCP and Shiv Sena.

The swearing-in ceremony of the new Mahayuti government will be in Mumbai on Thursday (December 5). 

While the name of the new CM is unknown, Devendra Fadnavis is widely considered the top choice. 

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale claimed on Tuesday that the top brass of the BJP offered the post of the Mahayuti alliance's chief to Eknath Shinde, but he refused.