Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra CM; Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as deputy CMs

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister of the Indian state of Maharashtra on Thursday (Dec5).Shiv Sena leader Ekanth Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar also took oaths as the deputy chief ministers.

The swearing-in ceremony was held at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai, and the oaths were administered by Maharashtra Governor CP CP Radhakrishnan.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi,Union Ministers Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, and JP Nadda, and severalchief ministers and leaders of the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) took part in the ceremony.

#WATCH | Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and CMs & Deputy CMs of NDA-ruled states, Union… pic.twitter.com/NrjXGk4BYF — ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2024

Fadnavis' name as CM was announced after days ofspeculation and political manoeuvring. He had previously served as the state's CM from 2014-2019.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by over 42,000 attendees, including high-profile guests like Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Sachin Tendulkar, Shah Rukh Khan, and Madhuri Dixit.

'Roles may have changed but...'

Addressing the media post the swearing-in ceremony, Chief Minister Fadnavis said, ""In the last 2.5 years, we have worked for the development of Maharashtra and from here too we will work for the development of Maharashtra and we will not stop now, the direction and speed is the same, only our roles have changed... We will take decisions for the betterment of Maharashtra."

#WATCH | Mumbai: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis says, "I don't believe that there is any such delay (in forming the goverment). Even before this, in 2004, there was a delay of about 12-13 days. In 2009, there was a delay of about 9 days. We will have to understand that when… pic.twitter.com/S9w5vmSzcO — ANI (@ANI) December 5, 2024

"Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar are with me. People want a stable government, so they have chosen us and we will stay and work together. We will continue the 'Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana'....We will soon elect the Maharashtra Assembly Speaker as the Cabinet has decided to hold a special session on December 7-8. Governor will address on 9th December...," he added.

Mahayuti alliance emerges victorious in Maharashtra polls

The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a landslide victory in the November 20assembly polls. The BJP won 132 seats out of the total 280, while the Shiv Sena (led by Shinde) won 57 seats and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) led by Ajit Pawar, won 41 seats.

Eknath Shinde headed to his native village of Dare in Satara on November 29amid speculations that he was not happy with the way the new government was shaping up.

However, he said two days later that he comes to Dare regularlyand wondered why there should be any confusion (over his visit) when he cleared his stand on the CM’s post last week.

“I always come to my village. Why should there be any confusion when I have already made my stand clear last week? I have already said the decision on CM’s post taken by the BJP leadership will be acceptable to me and Shiv Sena and will have my full backing,” Shinde told reporters.