Devendra Fadnavis to swear in as Maharashtra CM today, PM Modi to attend

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the supreme leader of BJP, will attend the swearing-in ceremony, which will be held at 5:30 pm.

Apart from the PM, several political and religious leaders are expected to grace the event.

In a flip, now caretaker chief minister who has served the top post for two years since 2022, Eknath Shinde, will be one of the two deputies.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)'s Ajit Pawar will be the other deputy chief minister alongside the Shiv Sena leader.

Union Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Nirmala Sitharaman, who was present at the BJP's core committee meeting on Wednesday, spoke on the return of the Mahayuti, the name refers to the ruling coalition comprising BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde camp) and Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction).

"The unexpected, unprecedented victory is a message for Viksit Bharat," said Sitharaman and added, "The double engine government will now run under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi."

The road to the swearing-in ceremony has remained rough as Shinde had sent feelers about his wish to remain the CM even when he relied on PM Modi for the final decision.

Speaking to reporters, Shinde said on Sunday as quoted by The Indian Express, "I was the people’s chief minister. …Actually, I used to say that I was not just the chief minister but the common man. As a common man, I understood problems and pain suffered by the people and tried to address them. Since I worked as a common man, obviously people feel that I should become the chief minister."

"However, there should be no confusion… I held a press conference last week and clarified that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah will take the decision regarding the chief minister’s post. My party Shiv Sena and myself will support their decision… There should be no ifs and buts in anyone’s mind," the Sena leader added, speaking at his native village of Dare in Satara district.

Fadnavis, who remained the chief minister from 2014-2019, served as Shinde's deputy in the Mahayuti government.

The suspense over the CM's post started after the Mahayuti decimated the Maha Vikas Aghadi in the November 20 assembly elections.

Out of 230, the BJP dominated with a tremendous strike rate, winning 132, the highest ever by the saffron party in the state.