December 4th 2024.
Mumbai: Thursday will mark a significant moment in Maharashtra as Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of the state. This decision was made after Governor CP Radhakrishnan invited him to form the new government. The ceremony will take place at Azad Maidan, located in the bustling city of south Mumbai. It will be attended by none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, along with two deputy chief ministers, including NCP leader Ajit Pawar.
There has been much speculation about whether outgoing CM Eknath Shinde will be a part of the new ministry. While Fadnavis has expressed his desire for Shinde to join the government, Shinde has stated that the media will be updated on this decision later on Wednesday. A delegation from the ruling Mahayuti alliance met with the Governor at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, just after Fadnavis was unanimously elected as the state BJP legislature party leader.
At the meeting held in Vidhan Bhawan, former Gujarat CM and BJP's central observer Vijay Rupani announced that Fadnavis had been unanimously elected as the BJP legislature party leader. The central observer and Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman also spoke at the meeting, emphasizing the importance of a "double engine government" in both the state and the Centre to drive development.
Fadnavis expressed his gratitude to the BJP legislators for their trust and support, attributing the Mahayuti alliance's victory in the November 20 assembly elections to Prime Minister Modi's mantra of "Ek hai toh safe hai." Senior state BJP leader Chandrakant Patil proposed Fadnavis' name for the legislature party leader, which was finalized at the state BJP's core committee meeting prior to the legislature party meeting.
Speaking to reporters at Raj Bhavan, Fadnavis shared that he had met with Eknath Shinde the day before and had expressed the wishes of both the Shiv Sena and Mahayuti members for Shinde to be a part of the new government. He also expressed his confidence that Shinde would join them. Shinde had been in Thane citing health reasons, causing speculation of discord within the Mahayuti alliance, but he returned to Mumbai on Tuesday.
During a press conference at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, a reporter asked Shinde if he and Ajit Pawar would be sworn in as deputy chief ministers at Azad Maidan. Shinde replied, "Let's wait till evening. The oath ceremony is tomorrow." To which Ajit Pawar jokingly added, "Inka to shaam tak pata chalega. Main to shapath le raha hoon. He will figure it out by this evening. I'm the one taking the oath."
Shinde also expressed his happiness at the proceedings, stating that Fadnavis had recommended him for the CM position two and a half years ago, and now Shiv Sena has recommended Fadnavis for the role. He congratulated Fadnavis and wished him the best, emphasizing the healthy atmosphere in which the government is being formed.
The BJP achieved a remarkable victory in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securing 132 out of the 288 assembly seats in the state, their best performance yet. Together with their allies Shiv Sena and NCP, the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition holds a commanding majority of 230 seats.
On Tuesday, Fadnavis met with caretaker CM Eknath Shinde at his official residence, 'Varsha,' in south Mumbai, for the first time since their meeting with Union Minister Amit Shah in Delhi last week. BJP leader Prasad Lad shared that the swearing-in ceremony will be a grand affair with approximately 42,000 attendees, including PM Modi, nine to ten Union ministers, and 19 chief ministers and deputy chief ministers.
Special arrangements have been made to accommodate 40,000 BJP supporters and a separate seating arrangement for 2,000 VVIPs, including leaders from various religions. More than 4,000 police personnel have been deployed for security during the ceremony, including platoons of the State Reserve Police Force, Quick Response Teams, Riots Control Teams, and the Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad. Traffic arrangements have also been made to ensure smooth vehicular movement, with 280 personnel from the traffic wing overseeing the process.
Interestingly, the invitation cards sent out by state Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik for the ceremony include the new CM's full name as "Devendra Sarita Gangadharrao Fadnavis." "Sarita" is his mother's name, and "Gangadhar" is his father's. Fadnavis had used "Devendra Gangadhar Fadnavis" as his name in the affidavit filed before the assembly polls this year. His mother's name was not included in the invites for the 2014 and 2019 swearing-in ceremonies.
[This article has been trending online recently and has been generated with AI. Your feed is customized.]
[Generative AI is experimental.]
