Nitin Gadkari to head Maharashtra govt?

According to media reports, several BJP workers want Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari to lead the government.

BJP MLA and former state unit president Sudhir Mungantiwar told mediapersons that he and other state leaders want Gadkari to take up the responsibility.

A group of  law-makers from the BJP even met Gadkari at the Nagpur airport, where they reportedly urged him on the same.

However, Gadkari in a recent interview to NDTV said he was not looking to switch jobs.

Earlier it was believed that Maharashtra party chief Devendra Fadnavis could be the Chief Minister.  Fadnavis himself won from Nagpur South and is seen as a front runner for the post.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) deferred its decision on government formation in Maharashtra till after Diwali festival, media reports said.

The BJP fell short of a majority in Maharashtra by 22 seats. The saffron brigade won altogether 123 Assembly seats in the state.

It was widely expected that BJP would go with former ally Shiv Sena which won 63 seats. But the NCP played a spoiler by offering external support to the BJP.

The BJP contested alone in Maharashtra after ending its 25-year alliance with the Shiv Sena last month over a seat-sharing disagreement.

In Maharashtra, all previous alliance partners - BJP and Shiv Sena of NDA and Congress and NCP of UPA - fought elections individually after failing to forge pre-poll tie-up.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said: “I will visit Maharashtra after Diwali.”

Sources said a section of BJP leaders feels that the Shiv Sena is a natural partner byt at the same time it must accept that it has got little bargaining power to ask for key posts like deputy chief minister in the cabinet.