Devendra Fadnavis Named Next Maharashtra CM, Grand Oath-Taking Tomorrow

Mumbai: Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis has been named as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra, with the grand oath-taking ceremony set to take place tomorrow, Thursday. Fadnavis was unanimously elected as the Maharashtra BJP legislature party leader at its meeting held earlier today. 

The swearing-in ceremony will be held in Mumbai on Thursday (tomorrow) in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Mod, CMs of BJP ruled states and party's top leadership. Fadnavis' name was finalised for the top post at the BJP's core committee meeting this morning.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said leaders of the Mahayuti coalition will meet Governor CP Radhakrishnan later today to stake claim to form government.

This comes as Union Finance Minster Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani arrived in Mumbai late Tuesday to attend a key meet after they were appointed as Central observers for the Maharashtra legislative party meeting.

In the recently concluded Assembly elections, Mahayuti registered a historic victory winning over 230 seats out of the total 288 while the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) witnessed an embarrassing defeat as the alliance couldn't even cross 50-seat mark.

Preparations in full swing for Maharashtra CM swearing in

Preparations are in full swing at the Azad Maidan for the swearing-in ceremony of the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra on December 5, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi expected to attend the event.

Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule has been overseeing preparations for the ceremony and visited the venue in south Mumbai on Monday.

BJP at its record best in Maharashtra

The saffron party recorded its best-ever electoral performance by winning 132 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra legislative assembly in the November 20 elections. The Mahayuti coalition that includes Eknath Shinde -led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar -led Nationalist Congress Party won a total of 230 seats.

Meanwhile, BJP leader Ashish Shelar is set to be the chief whip of the party.

Yesterday leaders of the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP's Mahayuti alliance visited Mumbai's Azad Maidan to oversee preparations for the oath-taking ceremony of the new Chief Minister, scheduled to take place on December 5. The ceremony will mark the beginning of the new government in Maharashtra, following the Mahayuti alliance's landslide victory in the state assembly elections.

Several Yuti alliance leaders including BJP leader Girish Mahajan, Gulab Rao Patil and Sanjay Shirsat, visted the sports ground. The event is expected to be attended by senior NDA leaders and several Chief Ministers and Prime Mister Narendra Modi.

On Tuesday, Fadnavis met caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde at his official residence, 'Varsha,' here, the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.

While the hour-long meeting's details remain unclear, some political observers view it as an outreach effort by the BJP to placate an ally which is weighing its options, while others believe it served as a preliminary discussion regarding the swearing-in ceremony set for December 5.

With inputs from agencies