Even as posters appeared proclaiming Ajit Pawar as the “future chief minister” amid hectic political developments, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar's nephew and state’s leader of opposition made it clear that it is number that matters.
“Banners and posters do not make the chief minister… it is the magic figure of 145,” Pawar told reporters on Friday.
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly’s strength is 288 and one requires 145 MLAs to form the government.
Pawar said that Eknath Shinde, who is currently the chief minister, had managed to get that number.
The statement from junior Pawar assumes significance in wake of the fact that exactly a week ago he publicly expressed his chief ministerial ambitions even as there were reports that he would leave NCP or with a group and help out the BJP in the wake of the impending Supreme Court verdict on the June 2022-spilt in the Shiv Sena and the toppling of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
During his interaction, Pawar, however, said: “In journalism, you all aspire to become editor one day… in politics, one at the national level aspires to become ministers of the prime minister and in state, the ambition is to get into the ministry and then become the chief minister.”