Next Maharashtra Chief Minister to be from BJP, says Mungantiwar

Mumbai: Maharashtra Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar has claimed the next chief minister of the state would be from his party.

He also said that the BJP and ally Shiv Sena would arrive at a seat-sharing agreement soon for the state Assembly polls due later this year.

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"The next chief minister will be from the BJP. There is no discontent in the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance over this. We will even cross 220 Assembly seats, in the 288-member House, this time," Mungantiwar told reporters in Nashik on Monday.

He said leaders of the BJP and Sena were working on a seat-sharing pact for the state polls.

"The final decision on seat-sharing will be taken soon...we will work hard to ensure the victory of our allies," Mungantiwar said.

Meanwhile, downplaying Mungantiwar's comments, a Sena leader said there was no change in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' statement that both the allies would share all responsibilities and contest equal number of seats in the Assembly polls.

He said Fadnavis declared on February 19 that both the parties would share "responsibilities" and number of seats for the Vidhan Sabha polls.

Last week, state revenue minister Chandrakant Patil said the BJP and Sena and will contest 135 seats each and leave the remaining 18 for other allies.

The Shiv Sena has not yet reacted to Patil's comments.

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(PTI)