Devendra Fadnavis to be Maharashtra chief minister, will take oath on Dec 5

Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister on December 5, News agency PTI reported Wednesday.

The finaldecision to confirm Fadnavis's name as the chief minister of India's richest state was taken in the BJP core committee meeting earlier in the day (Dec 4).

BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar will now propose Fadnavis’s name before all MLAs to appoint him as the leader of the legislative party.

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The Wednesday decision ended weeks-long deadlock over the CM's name, with incumbent CM Eknath Shinde also staking claim to the top post.

In Maharashtra, BJP's Mahayuti alliance won a landslide majority, winning 230 out of 288 seats in the Assembly last month. BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde and NCP's Ajit Pawar are key allies of the Mahayuti alliance.

Fadnavis was termed by BJP leaders as the architect of this massive victory, with leaders from BJP recommending his name for the CM post. However, the leaders of Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) are rooting for Eknath Shinde. The Mahayuti alliance had Shinde as their chief minister in the previous term.

Fadnavis will nowtake oath on December 5 at Azad Maidan in Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders.

Shinde anyway didn't have enough leverage over BJP as the party technically can still form government without his support, by relying on Ajit Pawar's NCP. Shinde earlier himself said he won't get upset over the CM post and he would accept whatever will be decided by PM Modi.

(With inputs from agencies)