Eknath Shinde Will Be Replaced As Maharashtra CM Soon; 16 MLAs will be disqualified: Raut

Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut has once again said that NCP leader Ajit Pawar who joined the NDA on Sunday along with eight others will replace Eknath Shinde as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

Raut claimed that 16 MLAs who rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray will be "disqualified". "Today I am saying this in front of the camera, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra is going to change. Eknath Shinde is being removed. Eknath Shinde and the 16 MLAs are going to be disqualified," ANI quoted Raut as saying.

Raut's remark came after NCP leader Ajit Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra and took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday. Raut further said that Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress will fight "unitedly" in Maharashtra.

"BJP is breaking Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress but this will not benefit them at all. In Maharashtra, we will fight unitedly. It is shocking that PM Modi had said that the leaders of NCP are involved in corruption and now those leaders have taken oath in Raj Bhawan," Raut said.

In June 2022, Eknath Shinde launched a rebellion against the party. The majority of MLAs sided with him, which led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress) government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

Later, Shinde was sworn in as the 20th chief minister of Maharashtra, while BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM.

On Sunday, Raut had stated that Maharashtra will get a new CM. "We already knew that this process was going on. About this, I had said earlier also that it can happen. The sword of disqualification that was hanging over Eknath Shinde is about to fall soon. The 16 MLAs who went with him will be disqualified. In just a few days, Maharashtra will get another Chief Minister," he added.