Senior Congress leader and Maharashtra assembly poll candidate Balasaheb Thorat has asserted that the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will win a clear majority and also indicated his chief ministerial aspirations.
In an exclusive interview to PTI ahead of the November 20 state assembly polls, Thorat (71) said he is among the few senior leaders in the MVA after NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar and enjoys cordial relations with leaders of the alliance.
Thorat’s assertion has come at a time when the ruling Mahayuti coalition has been reluctant to declare incumbent Chief Minister Eknath Shinde as the next CM, with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis saying a decision on it will be taken after the poll results are announced.
“I am among the senior leaders in the MVA after Sharad Pawar,” Thorat, an eight-term MLA from Sangamner in Ahilyanagar district, told PTI when asked whether he saw himself as an acceptable face of the opposition alliance.
“But, I hail from central Maharashtra,” Thorat quipped to a query on if he would like to see the next chief minister from western Maharashtra.