GUWAHATI: The oath-taking ceremony for Maharashtra’s new cabinet has been scheduled for Thursday, December 5, at 5 PM at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan. This was announced by BJP Maharashtra chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Saturday, November 30.
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Bawankule also added that the event will see the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Despite this announcement, suspense still lingers over who will assume the chief minister's post in Maharashtra’s new government. Eknath Shinde, the caretaker chief minister, remains in his native village in Satara district for the time being, due to illness. But according to sources, it has been suggested that he may be dissatisfied with the developments surrounding the new cabinet formation.
Discussions are underway in Delhi and Mumbai at the moment, with indications pointing to BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as the front-runner. Fadnavis has already served as chief minister twice, and is reportedly backed by both the BJP central leadership and Ajit Pawar’s NCP faction.
The BJP emerged victorious in Maharashtra's 288-member assembly, securing 132 seats in the elections held on November 23. Partnering with Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena (57 seats) and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (41 seats), the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ended up boasting a commanding 230 seats, far exceeding the 145-seat majority mark.
In contrast, the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance, comprising Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena faction, the Congress, and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction, managed just 46 seats in total.