BJP leadership, allies will take care of Mahayuti's CM face: Bawankule

There has been no discussion so far on who will be the chief ministerial face of the ruling Mahayuti' coalition in Maharashtra assembly polls due later this year, said state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday.

The party's central leadership and alliance partners will take the call on it, he said, asserting that Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remains the leader of his party in the state.

Bawankule was talking to reporters at Nagpur airport on his return after attending the BJP's core group meeting in Delhi on Tuesday.

He said they discussed the reasons for the below-par performance of Mahayuti, comprising BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and NCP under Ajit Pawar, in Maharashtra and why its vote share was left behind by 0.3 per cent compared to the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

In the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls, the Mahayuti bagged just 17 of the state's 48 seats, with the BJP's tally coming drastically down to nine from the 23 (it won in 2019). By contrast, the MV