Suspense Ends: Devendra Fadnavis To Take Oath As Maharashtra CM Today; Ajit Pawar To Be Dy CM

Devendra Fadnavis staked a claim to form the next government in Maharashtra. The swearing-in ceremony will take place on December 5.

Mumbai:Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister today, putting to rest the suspense over who will head the new Mahayuti alliance government in the western state.

Fadnavis was unanimously elected as the leader of the Maharashtra BJP Legislature Party this morning, paving the way for his appointment as the chief minister for the third time. The swearing-in ceremony will be held in Mumbai on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Fadnavis was picked for the top post at the BJP's core committee meeting held here ahead of the legislature party meeting. Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and Fadnavis were present at the core committee meeting. The BJP has appointed Sitharaman and Rupani as central observers for its Maharashtra legislature party's meeting.

Fadnavis along with Maharashtra Interim Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, NCP leaders Ajit Pawar, and Praful Patel, and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde reached the Raj Bhawan and met Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan. The leaders staked a claim to form the government by submitting support letters of their MLAs to the Governor.

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, NCP leader Dhananjay Munde and BJP leaders Ravindra Chavan, and Prasad Lad were present on the occasion.

Later speaking to reporters, Fadnavis said, "The Governor has accepted our stake and he has given a time of 5.30 pm on December 5 for the swearing-in ceremony. The letter of support BJP, Shiv Sena, NCP, Jansurajya Party, others and independent MLAs has been given to the Governor. I want to thank Eknath Shinde, who on behalf of Shiv Sena, asked the Governor to make me the Chief Minister. A similar demand was made by Ajit Pawar and our allies. In the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the swearing-in ceremony will take place at the Azad Maidan. All the decisions we have taken together and we will do so in the future. The post of CM and Deputy CM is a technical thing and all of us take unanimous decisions."

He said that he requested Eknath Shinde to be in the Cabinet. "And I am sure that we will get a positive response from him," quipped Fadnavis.

"I am thankful to the Prime Minister, BJP chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. I am also thankful to Ramdas Athawale, Rajnath Singh, and Nitin Gadkari. I am also thankful to the people of Maharashtra," Fadnavis added.

Fadnavis also said that who will take oath as Ministers will be decided by this evening.

Ajit Pawar clarified that he went to New Delhi for his work. "I took an architect to the bungalow on 11 Janpath, which was allotted to my wife Sunetra Pawar, who is a Rajya Sabha member. I also went to meet the lawyers for the ongoing case of NCP. I had also gone to attend the wedding of a well-wisher. I did not go to meet Amit Shah," said Ajit Pawar.

Ajit Pawar said that the Centre is with him. "We have a clear majority and we will ensure that we will work for the people and try to fulfil the guarantees promised during the elections. Maharashtra has a special place in the country and we will try to take it forward," added Ajit Pawar, who is the leader of the NCP.

Ajit Pawar said that he will take oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.

Eknath Shinde on his part said, "We met the Maharashtra Governor and staked a claim to form the government. The swearing-in ceremony will take place tomorrow. 2.5 years back, Devendra Fadnavis had backed me to become the Chief Minister, today I backed him to become the Chief Minister. I had already said that the stand taken by the Prime Minister would be backed by Shiv Sena."

"The Mahayuti secured a landslide win and we worked as a team. I am thankful to all the voters of the state. Our government was for the common people. We ran a double-engine government," added Shinde.

"I am thankful to Devendra Fadnavis that he came to my residence," he said, adding all the decisions that his government took were historic.

Shinde also quipped

Mahayuti alliance registered a landmark victory in November 20 Assembly Elections with BJP leading the bunch with wins in 132 assembly constituencies. Of all 288 Maharashtra assembly seats, BJP won 132 and its allies Shiv Sena and NCP bagged 57 and 41 seats respectively. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was handed one of the worst defeats in recent history as the three main constituents of the alliance could manage wins in just 50 seats -- Congress 16, Shiv Sena (UBT) 20, and NCP (SP) 10.

Oath ceremony at Azad Maidan

Preparations were on in full swing for the swearing-in ceremony to be held on Thursday at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as well as nearly 2,000 VVIPs and 40,000 supporters. Several Union ministers and 19 chief ministers and deputy CMs of various states are also expected to attend the ceremony.

BJP leader Prasad Lad has said the ceremony will be a "historic moment" for Maharashtra. "The event will be telecast live across the state wherever LED screens are available," he told news agency PTI.

Fadnavis-Shinde ice-breaker meet

On Tuesday, Fadnavis met caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence, 'Varsha,' here, the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.

While the hour-long meeting's details remain unclear, some political observers viewed it as an outreach effort by the BJP to placate an ally which is weighing its options, while others believe it served as a preliminary discussion regarding the swearing-in ceremony set for December 5. There are indications that the distribution of portfolios among the three allies might not be a smooth process.

Sena leaders on Monday said that as per the "convention" of alliance politics, their party should get the home portfolio if the CM post went to the BJP. A Shiv Sena leader also said a broad consensus has emerged among top BJP leaders and other Mahayuti allies to drop ministers facing serious allegations of corruption in the new government. (With agency inputs)

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