BJP trashes Sena claim to CM's chair, says it's ours

With the Bharatiya Janata Party set to emerge as the single-largest party in Maharashtra assembly poll, its state president Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the next chief minister will be from the party.

"The BJP will form the next government in Maharashtra. There will be a BJP chief minister," Fadnavis, a frontrunner for the post, told reporters in Mumbai.

Complete coverage: Battle for Maharashtra

"Our parliamentary board will take a decision (on CM candidate)," he said, adding "we will provide a transparent government."

Maintaining that the people had placed great faith in the BJP, he said, "The situation emerging now is that our tally will go up to over two-and-a-half times than our previous tally."

However, the Shiv Sena remained defiant even as trends indicated that it would not come out on top in the state. “Whatever happens, the next chief minister of Maharashtra will be Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray,” said party spokesperson Sanjay Raut.

In the 288-seat assembly, where 144 is the magic halfway number, the BJP was leading in 119 seats while the Shiv Sena was a far second with 59 seats.

Image: Maharashtra BJP president Devendra Fadnavis joins celebrations outside the BJP headquarters in Mumbai. Photograph: Hitesh Harisinghani/Rediff.com