As suspense over who will become the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra continues, Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday backed his party's chief, Ajit Pawar, for the top post.
Of 288 assembly constituencies, the ruling Mahayuti secured 230 seats in the assembly polls, the results for which came on Saturday.
The Bharatiya Janata Party won 132 seats while its allies -- the Shiv Sena, led by Eknath Shinde, won 57 seats, and the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar, won 41 seats.
"All the three parties will sit together and decide who will be our leader. We three parties will sit together and decide who will become the chief minister. Ajit Pawar can also become the CM, his strike rate is very good," Bhujbal told ANI.
"Today all our MLAs came to the meeting, many council members also came, and everyone has decided that Ajit Pawar will lead us in the Vidhan Sabha. But who will be the CM, we three parties will decide together," he added.
Earlier in the day, NCP president Deepak Mankar said that the party workers are in favour of making 'dada' (Ajit Pawar) the chief minister of the state.
"The workers of NCP wish that if 'dada' (Ajit Pawar), then Maharashtra will get a good direction. Dada has the capacity to do work...we know the kind of work he did in Maharashtra as deputy CM in the last 2.5 years...let's see...Mahayuti is taking everyone along," Mankar told ANI.
When asked about CM's face, he said it had been decided that leaders of three parties would sit together and decide on the chief minister. -- ANI