North News
Mumbai, December 4
Devendra Fadnavis will take oath as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister for the third time on Thursday after a consensus was reached at a crucial Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) meeting. Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) leader Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar are expected to be sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.
The decision, finalized during the BJP’s core committee meeting on Wednesday, was endorsed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani were also present.
Maharashtra BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar announced that Mahayuti leaders would meet Governor C P Radhakrishnan on Wednesday to formally stake a claim to form the government.
Fadnavis, who previously served as Maharashtra CM in 2014 and briefly in 2019, is a seasoned leader known for navigating complex political alliances. In 2022, following Shinde’s rebellion that brought down the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government, Fadnavis served as Deputy Chief Minister under Shinde, setting the stage for the Mahayuti coalition’s resurgence.
The Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and the NCP (Ajit Pawar faction), scored a landslide victory in the recent Assembly elections. The BJP secured 132 of the 148 seats it contested, while the Shiv Sena won 57.
Outgoing Chief Minister Shinde expressed his full support for Fadnavis. He, along with Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, recently met Amit Shah in New Delhi to finalize a power-sharing agreement.
