Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) took the oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday, following a decisive victory in the recent Assembly elections. This marks Fadnavis’ third term as CM, after previously serving in the role twice.
Joining Fadnavis in the ceremony were his two deputies—Eknath Shinde, leader of the Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar, senior leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). The event, which took place at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, symbolizing the BJP’s dominance in the state. The ceremony brought an end to nearly two weeks of political deadlock.
Fadnavis, who has been a six-time Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), faced a setback in 2019 when he was removed as CM despite the BJP and the then-undivided Shiv Sena winning the elections. Following a split in the Shiv Sena, Uddhav Thackeray formed a government with the Congress and NCP, known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi. However, Fadnavis has now staged a remarkable comeback, utilizing a combination of political strategy and alliances to regain control.
The BJP, together with its allies Shiv Sena under Shinde and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, secured a commanding victory in the November 20 Assembly elections, winning 230 out of 288 seats. The BJP emerged as the largest party, securing a record 132 seats, while Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
Fadnavis’ return as Chief Minister came after Shinde, who had previously led the Mahayuti alliance after splitting with Uddhav Thackeray, announced that he would not block the decision and left it to BJP’s top leadership. Initially, there were rumors about Shinde’s reluctance to accept a deputy position, with speculations even suggesting that he might skip the oath-taking ceremony.
However, Shiv Sena leaders, including Sanjay Shirsat, worked to convince Shinde to participate.
