Lagatar24 Desk
Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis is set to take oath as Maharashtra’s 18th Chief Minister today at 5:30 PM in a grand ceremony at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde has been confirmed to assume the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the Mahayuti 2.0 government.
Shiv Sena MLA Uday Samant stated earlier that Shinde agreed to accept the role after discussions with Devendra Fadnavis and party MLAs. The Mahayuti coalition, which secured a commanding 230 out of 288 Assembly seats in the November 20 elections, is set to form the government with Fadnavis at the helm.
Fadnavis’s Third Term as Chief Minister
This marks the 54-year-old leader’s third stint as Chief Minister. He previously served from October 2014 to November 2019 and briefly for five days in November 2019.
Joining the leadership team, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar will also be sworn in as one of Fadnavis’s deputies.
Security and Grand Arrangements
The oath-taking ceremony is expected to be a grand affair, with nearly 42,000 attendees, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers, 19 Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers, industrialists, and other dignitaries.
The Mumbai Police have ramped up security with over 4,000 personnel, including additional commissioners, DCPs, and special teams such as the SRPF and QRT. Traffic diversions and CCTV surveillance involving 8,000 cameras have been put in place.
BJP’s Historic Victory
In the Assembly elections, the BJP emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats, its highest-ever tally, while the Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar emphasized Shinde’s willingness to work collaboratively, noting that all MLAs encouraged him to accept the deputy’s position.
Ceremonial and Social Media Prominence
Before the swearing-in, Fadnavis visited the Shri Siddhivinayak Ganapati temple. He also stands out as Maharashtra’s most-followed politician on social media, with significant followings across platforms such as X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Fadnavis’s nomination as Chief Minister was proposed by former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani and unanimously supported at a BJP legislature party meeting.
