Farmer wants to be Maharashtra CM till Sena-BJP row on top post ends

A farmer from Beed district wants to be the Chief Minister of Maharashtra till the ruling BJP and its ally Shiv Sena resolve their differences over power- sharing and formation of the next government.

The farmer, Srikant Vishnu Gadale, a resident of Vadmauli in Kej taluka, has expressed this wish in a letter submitted to the office of Beed collector on Thursday.

The Shiv Sena is demanding the post of Chief Minister for 2.5 years and 50:50 division of portfolios.

Both these demands have been rejected by the BJP which has insisted that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will continue to hold the post for the next five years, thus delaying the formation of the state government.

Gadale has said that by taking over the top post, he wants to solve the problems of farmers who are facing crop loss due to unseasonal rains in parts of the state.

In his letter, he wrote, "The Shiv Sena and the BJP are yet to resolve their issue regarding the post of Chief Minister which was raised after the 2019 assembly election results.

"Natural calamities (unseasonal rains) have damaged ready-to-harvest crops in the state. Farmers are tense over these calamities."

"At a time when farmers are suffering, the Shiv Sena and the BJP are unable to resolve the issue of holding Chief Minister's post.

"Hence, till the issue is resolved, the governor should hand over the responsibility of Chief Minister's post to me," Gadale said.

"I will solve the problems of farmers and give them justice," he said.

The farmer also wrote that if the administration does not take note of his letter, he would protest through "democratic means".

The assembly polls in Maharashtra were held on October 21 and results announced three days later. The BJP-Shiv Sena alliance won an absolute majority in the Maharashtra assembly polls with the former emerging as the single largest party in the state with 105 seats. Shiv Sena bagged 56 seats in the elections.