With ex-BJP chief Nitin Gadkari relenting on the decision to give a second term to incumbent state head Sudhir Mungantiwar, the road seems to be clear for Devendra Fadnavis to become the new state unit chief of the party. An announcement from New Delhi was expected to be made on Wednesday but now it will be made on the auspicious day of Gudi Padwa, say party sources.

The decision to have Fadnavis occupy the top post will mark the end of the ongoing cold war between the two groups, headed by Gadkari and Lok Sabha deputy leader Gopinath Munde respectively. In a meeting with party chief Rajnath Singh at Delhi, Gadkari is believed to have communicated his decision to accept Fadnavis.