Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Sunday suggested that as long as he is the party's state unit chief, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis should become the chief minister for the "overall development" of the state.

The statement comes months after Bawankule's predecessor Chandrakant Patil, who is now a cabinet minister, had said that the party decided with a heavy heart that rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde should become the state's chief minister instead of Fadnavis.