New Delhi, Jul 2 (IANS): Putting an end to the political uncertainty in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde was sworn in as the state's 20th Chief Minister on June 30.
Senior BJP leader and former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Shinde's rebellion in the Shiv Sena brought about the collapse of Udhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
Thackeray resigned as the Chief Minister on June 29 after the Supreme Court refused to stay the Maharashtra Governor's direction to hold a floor test in the assembly on June 30. In a surprise turn of events, addressing a press conference, Fadnavis announced that Shinde would be the next Chief Minister.
Though Fadnavis had announced that he will not take any position in the new Maharashtra government, the BJP leadership asked him to join the new dispensation as Shinde's deputy.
CVoter-IndiaTracker conducted a nationwide survey on behalf of IANS to know people's views about BJP's decision to make Shinde Chief Minister of the state.
The survey revealed that Indians were divided in their views about BJP's decision on the issue. According to the survey data, while 55 per cnet respondents opined that BJP has taken the right decision by making Shinde the head of the new government, 45 per cent respondents disagreed.
Predictably during the survey, NDA and opposition voters were divided in their views on the issue. While 78 per cent of NDA voters backed the BJP's decision, 60 per cent of opposition supporters did not.
Differences in opinion were evident across ethnic divides.
While 67 per cent Upper Caste Hindus (UCH) and 65 per cent Other Backward Classes (OBC) applauded the decision, 78 per cent Muslim respondents expressed completely opposite views.
Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) were divided in their opinion on the issue, the survey revealed.
While 52 per cent SC respondents expressed their views in favour of the BJP's decision, 48 per cent opposed the move.
Similarly, while 52 per cent ST respondents approved the decision, 48 per cent shared a different opinion.