GUWAHATI: Devendra Fadnavis has been selected as Maharashtra's next Chief Minister, marking his return to office for the second time after previously serving once from 2014 to 2019. This decision was finalised during a core Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) committee meeting held on Wednesday, December 4.
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Also, Eknath Shinde has accepted to serve as one of two deputy chief ministers in the new Mahayuti government, along with NCP leader Aji Pawar.
The meeting took place at the Vidhan Bhavan and was attended by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, and Fadnavis himself. Although the BJP has yet to make an official statement, senior leaders put forward Fadnavis’s name for the chief minister’s post. Fadnavis is also scheduled to meet Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Wednesday to formally stake his claim to form the government.
Despite this development, reports have suggested some discontent within the alliance. Eknath Shinde, who played a pivotal role in the Mahayuti’s campaign, reportedly expressed disappointment over not being considered for a second term. However, he eventually dismissed these claims, attributing his retreat to his village in Satara to post-election exhaustion.
At Azad Maidan in Mumbai, preparations are now in full swing for the grand oath-taking ceremony to be held on Thursday, December 5. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders are expected to attend the event.
In the November 20 assembly elections, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance had secured a landslide victory in the state assembly elections, winning 230 of 288 seats. The BJP emerged as the dominant party with 132 seats, while its allies, Shiv Sena and NCP, won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.