Devendra Fadnavis sworn-in as Maharashtra CM; Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar take oath as his deputies

Pic/X

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders.

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath to Eknath Shinde, Fadnavis's predecessor, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar for the post of Deputy CMs.

There were speculations about whether Shinde would be part of the government, with some reports suggesting he was 'upset' over not being given the top executive post. However, Shinde put all speculations to rest by joining the Fadnavis-led administration on Thursday.

There is no decision on the cabinet ministers yet. The portfolios will be divided among the three alliance parties: BJP, NCP and Shinde's Shiv Sena, following discussions.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP National President JP Nadda, and other National Democratic Alliance (NDA) leaders also attended the swearing-in ceremony.

Apart from that, CMs Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Vishnu Deo Sai (Chhattisgarh), Pramod Sawant (Goa), Bhupendra Patel (Gujarat), and Pushkar Singh Dhami (Uttarakhand) were also present at the event.

The Union Ministers who attended the ceremony included Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Rajnath Singh and Chirag Paswan.

Prominent celebrities such as cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranveer Singh, and Madhuri Dixit were among those in attendance.

Earlier today, Fadnavis offered prayers at the Shree Siddhivinayak Temple and Shree Mumbadevi Temple in Mumbai.

Before leaving for Azad Maidan, Fadnavis also sought his mother's blessings, ANI reported.

Ahead of the oath-taking ceremony, the CM's wife, Amruta, stated, "It is a beautiful day as Devendra ji becomes an MLA (Member of Legislative Assembly) for the sixth time and takes on the Chief Minister's role for the third time. We are happy, but the sense of responsibility is even greater."

Shiv Sena leader Shaina NC stated, "Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar have not focused on power but on the people. They will work for the people's welfare."

The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 resulted in a decisive victory for the Mahayuti alliance. The alliance secured 235 of the 288 seats in the assembly, with the BJP emerging as the single-largest party in the state with 132 seats.

The Shiv Sena and NCP also achieved notable gains, winning 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

In contrast, the opposition, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), suffered a major setback. The Congress managed to win just 16 seats, while its alliance partners, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) and the NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), secured 20 and 10 seats, respectively.

(With ANI inputs)