Mumbai: Senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time at a grand swearing-in ceremony here on Thursday.
Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to Fadnavis, who was elected as Nagpur South West constituency in Nagpur district.
Shiv Sena MLA and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. Shinde was elected as an MLA from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency in Thane city. Before taking oath Shinde remembered Shiv Sena founder late Balasaheb Thackeray and his mentor Anand Dighe.
NCP MLA from Baramati Constituency Ajit Pawar also took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. This is the sixth time that Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with his Cabinet colleagues Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, JP Nadda, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Nirmala Sitharaman, S Jaishankar, Ashwini Vaishvav, Bhupendra Yadav, Chirag Paswan, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Ramdas Athawale, Dharmendra Pradhan, Jitan Ram Manjhi, Lalan Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kiren Rijiju, Raksha Khadse, Prataprao Jadhav was present on the occasion.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Fadnavis. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Congratulations to Shri Devendra Fadnavis Ji on taking oath as Maharashtra's Chief Minister. Congratulations to Shri Eknath Shinde Ji and Shri Ajit Pawar Ji on taking oath as the Deputy Chief Ministers of the state. This team is a blend of experience and dynamism, and it is due to this team's collective efforts that the Mahayuti has got a historic mandate in Maharashtra. This team will do everything possible to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the state and to ensure there is good governance. I assure all possible support from the Centre in furthering development in Maharashtra (sic)."
It was a show of strength for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) as Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi among others were also present on the occasion held at the historic Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.
Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan, actors Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri-Dixit Nene, Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh were also present for the ceremony. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, Reliance Industries Limited chairman Mukesh Ambani, his son Anand Ambani, BJP MLA and BCCI Treasurer Ashish Shelar, and BJP leader Vinod Tawde, were also present for the function.
The Mahayuti comprising BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP retained power in Maharashtra. The BJP bagged a staggering 132 seats while the Shiv Sena won 57 seats and NCP won 41 seats.
Meanwhile, in his first decision, CM Fadnavis approved financial aid of Rs five lakh for a patient awaiting a bone marrow transplant. Pune-based Chandrakant Kurhade's wife had sought help from the Chief Minister's relief fund for her husband's treatment. The chief minister put his signature on the file before he chaired the first cabinet meeting.
Later speaking to reporters at the state secretariat, Fadnavis said, "Now it is a Test match, we must take the state ahead." "Right now my focus is on key initiatives like river-joining projects, and solar energy projects," he added. He also said that he expects the expansion of his Cabinet before the winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly in Nagpur.
