Twelve days after the MahaYuti returned to power in the state in a spectacular manner, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the 31st Chief Minister of Maharashtra at a grand ceremony held in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the historic Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on Thursday evening.
Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena (ES) and Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (AP) were sworn into office as the Deputy CMs in the BJP-led MahaYuti government in the state, at a ceremony attended by Union Ministers, CMs of several states, corporate bigwigs, film and sports stars, and leading personalities from different walks of life. Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to CM Devendra Fadnavis, Dy. CMs Shinde and Ajit Pawar at the ceremony.
A six-time MLA from Nagpur South-West constituency, 54-year-old Fadnavis has taken over as the CM for a third term. Shinde (60), a five-time MLA from Thane’s Kopri-Pachpakadi who has assumed charge as the deputy chief minister, was earlier the chief minister in the MahaYuti Government. In a record of sorts, Ajit Pawar (65), an eight-time MLA from Baramati, has become the Dy. CM for the sixth term.
Given that the three constituents of the MahaYuti, BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP, have not yet formalised the nitty-gritties of the new government, the oath-taking ceremony was restricted t0 the swearing-in of Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar. Talking to media persons after taking over as the CM, Fadnavis said that he would expand the State Cabinet before the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature scheduled to begin towards the end of this month.
Ahead of the Nagpur Winter Session, a brief three-day Session will be held in Mumbai from December 7 to 9. At this Session, all newly elected MLAs would be administered oath, a Speaker will be elected and the Governor will address a joint session of the Maharashtra Legislature.
On his part, Fadnavis said that his government would be vindictive in its approach towards the Opposition. “Our government will not be vindictive at all. Instead, we will be concentrating on politics of change and not politics of vindictiveness”. Fadnavis said that his government would keep all the promises that the BJP-led MahaYuti made during its campaign, including the proposed increase in the quantum of assistance to women under its flagship scheme “Mukhya Mantri Ladki Bahin Yojana.
In view of the fact that none of the Opposition parties, including Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP ( SP), managed to get even ten per cent of the total 288 seats, Fadnavis was asked if there will be a leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly. “We will treat the Opposition with respect. As far as LoP is concerned, it is a decision to be taken by the Speaker,” the CM said.
Earlier, leaders from the Congress-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony. Fadnavis disclosed that he had personally invited all the major political party leaders for the event.
However, the ceremony held at Azad Maidan proved to be an impressive one. Apart from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at least dozen Union Ministers, including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh and Nitin Gadkari, Chief Ministers Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and corporate bigwigs like Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani and Anil Ambani were present on the occasion.
The presence of film stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Randir Kapoor, Sanjay Dutt, Madhuri Dixit and Ranvir Singh added glamour to the event. Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and his wife Anjali made their presence felt at the ceremony.