Fadnavis elected Maha CM, invites Shinde to be his deputy with Ajit Pawar

The BJP-led government will be sworn in on Thursday evening at Azad Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi

Mumbai: Eleven days after the Mahayuti alliance swept to a landslide win in the Maharashtra assembly elections, it finally became clear who the 31st chief minister of India’s richest state will be.

Mumbai, India - Dec. 4, 2024: Mahayuti Alliance under the leadership of Devendra Fadanvis addressing media after meeting with the ministry list to Governor of Maharashtra C.P.Radakrishnan in presence Shivsena leader Eknath Shinde, NCP leader Ajitdada Pawar,Chandrashekhar Bawankule,Praful Patel,Sunil Tatkare in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (Photo by Satish Bate/ Hindustan Times) (Hindustan Times)

Devendra Fadnavis, who was the Maharashtra CM from October 2014 to November 2019 and again for a brief, five-day spell in November 2019, will be sworn in for his third term today. The 54-year-old was unanimously elected as the legislative party leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by its 132 MLAs on Wednesday morning.

Later in the day, Fadnavis, along with outgoing chief minister Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) head Ajit Pawar, called on governor CP Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan, where the Mahayuti alliance staked claim to form the government with the support of 236 MLAs. The BJP-led government will be sworn in this evening at Azad Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

After staking claim, Fadnavis said he had requested the outgoing CM, Shinde, to be a part of his government and hopes the Shiv Sena chief will respond positively. If Shinde accepts, he is expected to be the deputy chief minister along with Pawar.

“I have personally requested Shinde saheb to be part of the new government. The post of chief minister or deputy chief minister are just technical things. All three of us will work together for the betterment of the state,” Fadnavis said, with Shinde seated beside him.

Shinde said he had already announced his backing of the BJP and the chief ministerial nominee appointed by it. “I am glad that two and half years ago, Fadnavisji had extended his support for me becoming chief minister at the same place we are sitting now. And now, I am supporting him for the top post,” he said.

The Shiv Sena chief also clarified that the decision on whether he would accept the offer to become deputy CM under Fadnavis would be taken on Wednesday evening. At the time of going to press, however, there was no confirmation yet (to be updated). Meanwhile, Pawar, sitting next to Shinde, was quick to clarify that he was joining the government as a deputy CM.

Unanimous choice

Earlier in the day, the BJP held a meeting with its newly elected 132 MLAs and senior party leaders, where former state BJP presidents Chandrakhant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar proposed Fadnavis’s name as the party leader. A slew of other leaders, including Pankaja Munde, Sanjay Kute, Sanjay Savkare, and Meghana Bordikar, seconded the proposal.

The meeting, held in the central hall of the state legislature, was conducted by the BJP’s two central observers, former Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani and Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Addressing the gathering, Rupani enquired whether there were any more proposals for the chief minister’s post. In the absence of any other proposal, he unanimously announced Fadnavis’s name.

Before the legislative party meeting, the Maharashtra BJP’s core committee met and discussed the name to be proposed. The BJP’s national joint secretary Shiv Prakash, national general secretary Vinod Tawde, and key leaders from the party’s state unit attended both meetings.

‘Mandate for Viksit Bharat’

In her speech after the announcement of Fadnavis’s name, Sitharaman said that the “unexpected and unprecedented” mandates in the Maharashtra and Haryana assembly polls were a message to the country, as they came in the backdrop of the Lok Sabha election results, where the BJP failed to win an outright majority. “It is a mandate for Viksit Bharat (Developed India) and for Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai,” she said, referring to the phrase coined by Prime Minister Modi while campaigning for the Maharashtra elections, calling for Hindus to be united.

Sitharaman added that a “double-engine government” in Maharashtra under the guidance of Modi and the leadership of Fadnavis will fulfil all the promises listed in the Mahayuti’s manifesto.

Fadnavis, in his speech after being elected as CM, also said that the thumping mandate delivered by the people of Maharashtra in favour of the Mahayuti alliance was a mandate for “Ek Hai Toh Safe Hai” and “Modi Hai Toh Mumkin Hai” (Modi makes it possible). “The mandate has also posed a challenge of the huge responsibilities and expectations of the people of Maharashtra. Our priority would be to complete assurances given by us to various sections of the society, including farmers and women, and keep the state in the top position,” he said.

Fadnavis also held a meeting with Shinde, Pawar and leaders from other smaller Mahayuti allies at his official bungalow, Varsha, before heading to Raj Bhavan. The letters of support from the Mahayuti’s 236 MLAs were handed over to governor CP Radhakrishnan in the presence of leaders from all constituents of the alliance. Apart from the Shiv Sena and NCP, the Vinay Kore-led Jan Surajya Shakti, the Ravi Rana-led Yuva Janashakti, the Mahadev Jankar-led Rashtriya Samaj Paksha and two independents have extended their support to the government.

Fadnavis’s swearing-in as chief minister is scheduled to be held at 5.30 pm at Azad Maidan in the presence of Prime Minister Modi, Union ministers including home minister Amit Shah, chief ministers of various NDA-led state governments, former Maharashtra chief ministers, foreign diplomats, actors from the Hindi and Marathi film industries, religious gurus of various sects, farmers, and beneficiaries of the Ladki Bahin welfare scheme.