The BJP has announced that senior leader Gopinath Munde would be the party’s unequivocal choice for chief ministership in Maharashtra if the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance came back to power in the 2009 assembly elections. The announcement was made by BJP stalwart L K Advani at a mammoth rally of paddy growers from eastern Vidarbha in Bandra district on Saturday.

Advani took everybody by surprise when he said that the saffron combine was sure to come back to power in Maharashtra. He said, “you can trust that Munde, as the chief minister, will save you from indebtedness, give remunerative price for your produce and freedom from power cuts.”

Advani later clarified that Munde was BJP’s choice for the top job in Maharashtra, adding that he would be the chief minister only if the BJP won more seats than Shiv Sena.