NCP-SP leader Clyde Crasto on Wednesday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using Eknath Shinde to win the elections.

Crasto said, “The whole issue of who is going to be the next Maharashtra CM is turning out to be a big question. During the elections, the BJP always said that they were contesting the elections with Eknath Shinde as the face of Mahayuti. Now when the time has come and he has also performed, and it is the time to make him the CM again, the party is talking about the Bihar model not being there and other issues. This clearly means they are using Eknath Shinde.”

Further, he said that injustice was being done to Shinde.

“This is injustice to Shinde… Are they trying to say that he is not good enough to be the CM or are they trying to say that they did what they wanted to do, used him and now they want their man as the CM? Whatever it is they have got the mandate of the people and they need to respect it. They need to announce the Chief Minister who will lead Maharashtra prosperity,” he added.

Earlier, on November 26, Shiv Sena leader Shambhuraj Desai said that all the three leaders –Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar–would sit together and hold discussions if the deadlock continues over the choice of name of next Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

The election results for Maharashtra were announced on November 23 but the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance is yet to decide on the Chief Minister.

“Who would lead our Mahayuti and who would be the CM face of Mahayuti? Our three leaders, Eknath Shinde, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, would sit together and discuss this. Whatever they decide will be accepted by all the MLAs of Mahayuti and the same decision will be implemented…,” Shiv Sena leader Shambhuraj Desai.

“Every party feels that a leader of their own party should get the CM post. If you ask me, as a Shiv Sainik, I would say that our main leader, Eknath Shinde,should get the CM post. The same goes for BJP leaders who want Devendra Fadnavis to get the post…But all three leaders will sit together and discuss. A solution would come out after discussions,” he added.

Meanwhile, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday said Devendra Fadnavis should lead the Mahayuti government as “people of Maharashtra want him” to be the next Chief Minister, and Eknath Shinde can be the Deputy CM or join the Modi government.

Mumbai: A fire broke out in a seven-storey residential building in Andheri area of Mumbai on Wednesday morning, officials said.

There was no report of any casualty, they said.

The blaze erupted at 8.42 am in a flat on the sixth floor of the Chinchan building in Andheri (West), the officials said.

Four fire-fighting vehicles were rushed to the spot. The blaze was doused by around 9 am, a fire official said. “There is no report of injury to anyone,” a civic official said.

Cooling operations were underway at the spot, the fire official said. The cause of the fire was yet to be ascertained.

Maharashtra Congress president Nana Patole on Tuesday made serious allegations against the BJP, claiming that despite the party and its allies securing a clear mandate from the people, the delay in appointing the chief minister signalled its priorities.

According to Patole, the BJP is not concerned about the people of Maharashtra, but instead is looking to install a chief minister who will blindly sign off on documents linked to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s favoured industrialist friends. He suggested that this was the reason for the delay in finalising the CM.

Patole made these comments after meeting with Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, in New Delhi. Along with Patole, newly elected MP from Nanded, Prof Ravindra Vasantrao Chavan, and other Congress MPs from Maharashtra were also present at the meeting.

Speaking to the media, Patole said, “We informed our party leaders about the results of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly elections. The outcome was unexpected, but it is not accepted by the people. The public sentiment is different, and the Congress party has always respected these sentiments.”

“There are growing concerns about the integrity of the EVMs, with voters claiming that their votes are being redirected to other parties. The Supreme Court should investigate this issue, and in light of these allegations, a public movement against the EVMs should be initiated,” he said.

Patole’s remarks have intensified the political debate in Maharashtra, with accusations of electoral malpractice and concerns about the transparency of the election process taking center stage.