A twist in the tale was in store on a day of fast-paced developments as the Maharashtra political turmoil came to an end with Eknath Shinde, whose revolt within Shiv Sena led to the collapse of the MVA government, taking oath as the 20th Chief Minister of the state. In a surprise move, Fadnavis, who earlier announced that he would be out of the new government, changed his stand and was sworn in as the deputy CM following directives from the BJP central leadership.
Everyone had expected Fadnavis to become the CM again with the support of the Shinde-led group. BJP has 106 MLAs in the Assembly while Shinde has claimed the support of 50 MLAs, inlcuding independents.
The oath-taking ceremony came a day after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as CM, leading to the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi government, which also comprised of NCP and Congress.
Maharashtra Govt Formation: Here Are The Top Developments
- Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to CM Eknath Shinde and his deputy Fadnavis at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai shortly after 7.30 pm.
- Shinde, a four-time MLA, began oath taking by paying tributes to late Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe, his political mentor in Thane district.” Development of the state is my priority. I will take all sections of society along with me,” Shinde said after the ceremony.
- Earlier, Devendra Fadnavis said he won’t be part of the Eknath Shinde-led ministry and would support it from outside. However, minutes later, following a series of missives from top BJP leaders, Fadnavis changed his mind and became the deputy CM.
- The Maharashtra Cabinet has called a special session of state Assembly on July 2-3. On the first day of the session, elections to the post of Speaker will be completed. Speaker’s post is vacant since Nana Patole’s resignation.
- The Congress called the new Maharashtra government “ED Sarkar”, a reference to the first names of chief minister Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis. “Introducing the new ED Sarkar. #Maharastra,” tweeted Congress’ Pawan Khera.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis following the oath-taking ceremony. “A grassroots level leader, he brings with him rich political, legislative and administrative experience. I am confident that he will work towards taking Maharashtra to greater heights,” PM Modi said on Shinde.
- On Devendra Fadnavis, PM Modi said, “He is an inspiration for every BJP Karyakarta. His experience and expertise will be an asset for the Government. I am certain he will further strengthen Maharashtra’s growth trajectory.”
- NCP supremo Sharad Pawar congratulated the CM and said Shinde inspired people to quit Shiv Sena and showed the power of taking such a large number of MLAs to Guwahati. “I don’t think that the one who led MLAs to Assam had expected more than the post of Dy CM. The person who was CM and LoP has been asked to take oath as Dy CM. It’s shocking,” ANI quoted Pawar as saying.
- Former CM Uddhav Thackeray also extended best wishes to Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Dy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
- The TMC terming the political developments in Maharashtra “ominous signs for a democracy”. “A democratically elected government was toppled through undemocratic means… this is a dangerous trend. The politics of horse-trading, financed by the BJP, was at play. The BJP’s agenda is to capture power by hook or by crook,” TMC chief spokesperson Sukhendu Sekhar Ray said.