Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday at a grand ceremony held at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Joining him as Deputy Chief Ministers were Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar. The ceremony was presided over by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and witnessed the presence of several key political figures, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The event was not only a significant moment for the Mahayuti alliance, which brings together BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, but also a display of strength for the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Prime Minister Modi, along with key Union ministers such as Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, and Roadways Minister Nitin Gadkari, attended the ceremony, underscoring the importance of the occasion for the NDA at large. Other political leaders present included Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Tripura’s Manik Saha.
In addition to the political bigwigs, several high-profile personalities from the entertainment industry were also in attendance, including Bollywood stars Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Sanjay Dutt, Shraddha Kapoor, and Varun Dhawan. Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar made an appearance, alongside industrial tycoon Mukesh Ambani and his family, who sat alongside Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.
The lead-up to the swearing-in ceremony was marked by intense speculation within political circles, with last-minute discussions and negotiations. The Mahayuti alliance, formed between BJP, NCP, and Shiv Sena, had to hammer out the power-sharing agreement after days of deliberations. Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar extended their support to Fadnavis late Wednesday, with Shinde declaring that he would back Fadnavis in the same way that the BJP leader had supported him when Shinde led a rebellion against Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray two-and-a-half years ago.
However, Shinde’s acceptance of the Deputy CM position was not immediate. Reports suggested that Shinde was initially unhappy about ceding the top post to BJP but was persuaded by Fadnavis and Shiv Sena leaders to join the new government as Deputy Chief Minister. Shinde’s decision to join the new government was finalized only hours before the ceremony.
With the formation of the new government, Fadnavis is set to lead Maharashtra for another term, navigating the complex dynamics of the three-party alliance.
