Never Promised Maharashtra CM Post, Shiv Sena Indulging in Horse Trading: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday said, apparently for the first time, that he never promised chief ministerial post to the Shiv Sena, the oldest ally of the Bharatiya Janata Party. I want to clearly put it on record that we had never given any assurances for CM post to Shiv Sena. Our CM was performing well, was doing good work and it was only logical for him to come back," Shah said while speak at an event organised by a news channel.

Shah also said no one raised an objection when Devendra Fadnavis was promoted as the chief ministerial candidate during the entire election campaign. “The entire election campaigning promoted him as the CM candidate, and no one ever questioned it. We won about 70 per cent seats on which we fought, and Shiv Sena won on 42 per cent seats it fought on," he said.

The Home Minister emphasised that we went to the polls in partnership with Shiv Sena and we shared our votes and got a clear majority together. "This mandate was for the sitting CM Devendra Fadnavis. The people of India know the value of stability. Thus, most decisions come in the favour of stable Govts. The result of Maharashtra, too, was for a stable government," he said.

Shah also accused the Shiv Sena of indulging in horse-trading as it is getting CM’s post despite having less numbers than the NCP-Congress alliance. He said that Sena used the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the election to win the maximum number of seats.

“There was not a single Shiv Sena MLA who did not use PM Modi's cut-out for election posters. Even Aaditya Thackeray did,” he said.

"There was not a single Shiv Sena MLA who did not use PM Modi's cut-out for election posters. Even Aaditya Thackeray did," he said. Denying reports of BJP approaching Ajit Pawar for the alliance, Shah said that BJP never compromised on its ideology. He also clarified that no charges were against Pawar have been dropped. "BJP didn't go to him, Ajit Pawar came to us," said Amit Shah. 

Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court ordered Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to prove his majority in the state assembly by Wednesday, a day after hearing a petition challenging the formation of the BJP government there.

The Congress-Shiv Sena-NCP combine had challenged the way BJP leader Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and NCP's Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister on Saturday morning, and demanded an immediate floor test.