"Baseless, false": Shiv Sena leader Shrikant Shinde refutes "rumours" of him becoming Maharashtra Deputy CM

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 2 : As the Mahayuti is yet to declare the Chief Minister face of Maharashtra, Shiv Sena MP from Kalyan, Shrikant Shinde on Monday refuted the "rumours" of him becoming the Deputy CM of Maharashtra and said that he is not in the race for any ministerial position in the state.
"After elections results, formation of government is delayed a little and that is why so many rumours are floating around and one is that I am going to be the deputy chief minister in the new government. I want to tell everyone that this is completely baseless and false, there is no fact in this. I had already a chance to become a minister in the Union Cabinet after Lok Sabha elections, but I chose to work for my party organisation and it is still like that, I have no desire for a position in power," Shrikant Shinde posted on X.
He further said that he is not in the race for any ministerial position in the state, adding that he is willing to work for his Lok Sabha constituency and Shiv Sena.
"I can understand the enthusiasm and competition of News media but at the same time, they should not turn their back on the facts. I hope that rumours about me. Will stop now," he added.
The results of the General Elections to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were declared on Saturday, November 23. In these elections, Mahayuti secured 230 of the 288 seats in the state assembly. However, the alliance has yet to finalize its Chief Ministerial candidate.
The BJP won 132 seats, while its allies -- the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, secured 57 seats, and the NCP, led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, won 41 seats.
In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback. The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, won only 20 seats, Congress secured 16, and the NCP(SP), led by Sharad Pawar, managed just 10 seats.