Maharashtra: Fadnavis to take oath as CM today
What's the story
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time on Thursday.
The ceremony will be held at Mumbai's Azad Maidan at 5:30pm.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries, including Chief Ministers from various National Democratic Alliance (NDA) states, are likely to attend the event.
Government formation
Fadnavis to lead Mahayuti government
Fadnavis will head the newly formed Mahayuti government with Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Ministers.
This will mark the 54-year-old's third term as Chief Minister.
He first assumed the position in October 2014, serving until November 2019, becoming the state's youngest Chief Minister at 44.
His second term was brief, lasting only five days—from November 23 to 28, 2019—after the Shiv Sena broke its alliance with the BJP.
Deadlock ends
Shinde to take the role of deputy CM
Separately, Shinde—who initially resisted stepping down from the CM's post—has agreed to assume the role of Deputy CM.
At a crucial BJP legislature party meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, Fadnavis was chosen as the CM.
Following the meeting, Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar addressed the media. Fadnavis expressed hope that the Shiv Sena chief "will be with us."
When Shinde—seated between Fadnavis and Pawar—was asked about taking the oath as Deputy CM, he avoided a direct answer, saying, "Wait till evening."
Poll win
Mahayuti alliance's grand win
Pawar interjected, saying, "Don't know about him, but I am taking oath tomorrow."
Shinde, who had been staying in Thane citing health reasons, returned to Mumbai on Tuesday after speculation of a rift within the Mahayuti alliance.
His return signaled a possible resolution to concerns about his role in the new government.
To recall, the Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, won a landslide victory in the recent Assembly elections, winning 235 out of 288 seats.
Election results
Opposition faces defeat in Maharashtra Assembly elections
The BJP was the single-largest party with 132 seats while Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats respectively.
Meanwhile, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) coalition suffered a crushing defeat.
The Congress won a mere 16 seats, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray-led faction) 20, and the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar only 10.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani have been overseeing the election of Fadnavis as the legislature party leader.
Security arrangements
Tight security measures in place for oath-taking ceremony
Security at Azad Maidan has been tightened with over 4,000 police personnel deployed to maintain safety. Specialized units such as the State Reserve Police Force and bomb disposal squads are on standby.
Traffic management has also been put in place with 280 personnel managing vehicular movement in South Mumbai.
The event is expected to pull an audience of 42,000 people, including seating arrangements for 2,000 VIPs.