Maha turnaround: All you need to know

The political crisis in Maharashtra has come to an end with former rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde taking oath as the 20th Chief Minister of the state by 7:30 pm today.

Mumbai (Maharashtra): In a massive political turnaround in political crisis-hit Maharashtra, BJP leader and former CM Devendra Fadnavis Thursday announced that rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, and not him, was going to be the next Maharashtra Chief Minister. The oath-taking ceremony is slated for 7:30 pm today. Fadnavis made the announcement soon after he and Shinde met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari on Thursday and staked claim to power.

Here are the top updates in this big story:

1. The leader of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs' troop Eknath Shinde landed in Mumbai on Thursday afternoon and along with Devendra Fadnavis met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari this afternoon and staked claim to power.
2. The floor test supposed to happen today (June 30) became void since Uddhav Thackeray filed his resignation as Chief Minister on Wednesday. Maharashtra Assembly Secretary Rajendra Bhagwat informed all state MLAs that as per Governor's orders, there was no need for a floor test now, so the special session will not be convened today.
3. BJP's core group in Maharashtra happened today afternoon. BJP leaders, waiting in the wings for staging a comeback to power in the state, celebrated Thackeray's announcement that he was stepping down as CM. State BJP chief Chandrakant Patil was seen treating party colleague Devendra Fadnavis with sweets.
4. MNS chief Raj Thackeray, in a likely reference to the ousted former CM Uddhav Thackeray, tweeted out on Thursday saying, "whenever someone misunderstands good fortune as one's personal accomplishment; therein begins the journey towards one's own decline!". He also congratulated Eknath Shinde on his new role as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
5. Thackeray's resignation came minutes after the Supreme Court refused to stay the floor test on June 30 as directed by Governor BS Koshyari. Thackeray also declared that he will resign as a member of the Maharashtra Legislative Council.
6. The resignation of Thackeray (62) capped a week-long drama of resort politics, where rebel Shiv Sena MLAs led by minister Eknath Shinde camped in luxury hotels and hopped on chartered jets from Mumbai to Surat and Guwahati, before landing in the cool climes of Goa on Wednesday night.
7. Maharashtra has lost a sensible and cultured chief minister in Uddhav Thackeray who has stepped down gracefully, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said on Wednesday night.
8. As the fate of the state government hung in balance on Wednesday, the state cabinet approved the renaming of Aurangabad city as Sambhajinagar and that of Osmanabad city as Dharashiv. The cabinet meeting chaired by Thackeray also approved the naming of the upcoming Navi Mumbai international airport after farmer leader late D B Patil.
9. Following is the party position in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly: Shiv Sena 55, NCP 53, Congress 44, BJP 106, Bahujan Vikas Aghadi 3, Samajwadi Party 2, AIMIM 2, Prahar Janshakti Party 2, MNS 1, CPI (M) 1, PWP 1, Swambhimani Paksha 1, Rashtriya Samaj Paksha 1, Jansurajya Shakti Party 1, Krantikari Shetkari Party 1, and Independents 13. There is a vacancy due to the death of Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Latke last month. Of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs, 39 rebelled against the Maha Vikas Aghadi government along with 10 independents.