MUMBAI: Amid the impasse between BJP and Shiv Sena over government formation in Maharashtra, a close confidante of Aaditya Thackeray, Rahul N Kanal, claimed that the young Shiv Sena leader will take oath as the chief minister at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park.

“God willingly !!! Waiting to hear these words and see the spectacle again at the same spot where our guiding light left for heavenly aboard and his blessings are with one and all…with the responsibility to serve our beloved Maharashtra!!! God is Great,Jai Hind Jai Maharashtra,” tweeted Kanal, who is a core committee member of Shiv Sena’s youth wing Yuva Sena.

Along with the post, Kanal posted a picture of the junior Thackeray in his young age along with late party chief Balasaheb Thackeray. Next to the photograph, a message written in Marathi read, “Someday, a voice will echo in Shivaji Park that ‘I, grandson of Balasaheb Thackeray swear to God…'”

The 29-year-old Thackeray won from Mumbai’s Worli assembly constituency, beating Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Suresh Mane by a margin of over 67,000 votes. He is the first member of the family in Shiv Sena’s history to contest elections.
Since then, several posters have surfaced calling for Thackeray to be the next chief minister of the state.

The BJP and Shiv Sena, who are partners in the ruling alliance in Maharashtra, had fought the assembly polls together on October 21. Even after getting the required numbers to form the government, there has been a delay in cobbling up a coalition owing to differences between the two parties on power-sharing.

Shiv Sena has insisted that the two parties had a ’50-50’ power-sharing agreement before the elections. But Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said that Shiv Sena was not promised the chief ministerial post for two-and-a-half years when the alliance was sealed before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party by winning 105 seats while Shiv Sena got 56 in the 288-member state assembly.