Maharashtra CM oath-ceremony: Fadnavis takes oath as CM, Shinde and Pawar become deputies

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said he will extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and will work as a team. Addressing a news conference, Shinde described his tenure as chief minister as very successful. "I will extend all possible cooperation to the chief minister. We will work as a team," Shinde told reporters. Playing on the acronyms CM (chief minister) and DCM (deputy chief minister), Shinde said he worked as "common man" and will now be "dedicated to the common man".

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said he will provide a stable government over the next five years and the state under his leadership will see politics of change and not revenge. Addressing his first press conference after taking over as CM, Fadnavis said the mandate of people in the 2024 assembly elections reflected their expectations and love, and he is feeling the pressure of their hope.

He maintained Maharashtra will grow with same speed in social, infrastructure, industrial sectors. The CM informed that election of a new assembly speaker will take place on December 9 during a three-day special session of the house beginning from December 7. Fadnavis said the new cabinet, which now has deputy CMs Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) and Ajit Pawar (NCP), will be expanded before the winter session of the state legislature which will he held in Nagpur later this month.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "I don't believe that there is any such delay (in forming the government). Even before this, in 2004, there was a delay of about 12-13 days. In 2009, there was a delay of about 9 days. We will have to understand that when there is a coalition government, many decisions have to be taken. In a coalition government, consultation has to be done on a very large scale. We have done that consultation and we have almost finalized the portfolio as well, there is some left, we will do that as well..."

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "In the last 2.5 years, we have worked for the development of Maharashtra and from here too we will work for the development of Maharashtra and we will not stop now, the direction and speed is the same, only our roles have changed... We will take decisions for the betterment of Maharashtra. We want to complete the works that we mentioned in our manifesto...

After taking oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde garlands the statue of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray in Colaba.

Addressing a press conference, the newly elected Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said, "Even though our (CM-DCM) role has changed in the current government, our direction and coordination will remain the same. I will try to fulfil all the promises I have made."

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis felicitated at Mantralay, in Mumbai.

As new govt takes oath in Maharashtra, NCP leader Dilip Walse Patil said, "Maharashtra has got a strong and stable government today. People's issues will be resolved by this government..."

 Amruta Fadnavis, wife of Devendra Fadnavis reacted to the oath-taking ceremony of the Maharashtra chief minister, saying  'Samundar Laut Kar Aa Gaya'.

After taking oath, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis along with his Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar arrived at Mantralay.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis along with his Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar paid floral tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Dr BR Ambedkar at Mantralay.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrives at Sahyadri Guest House in Mumbai after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar.

PM Modi leaves after attending the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar at Mumbai's Azad Maidan.

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde, Ajit Pawar pose for a photograph with PM Narendra Modi.

PM Modi meets Chief Ministers of NDA-ruled states at the oath ceremony of Maharashtra government.

PM Narendra Modi congratulates NCP chief Ajit Pawar on taking oath as Maharashtra Deputy CM.

PM Narendra Modi congratulates Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on taking oath as Maharashtra Deputy CM.

NCP chief Ajit Pawar takes oath as Deputy CM of Maharashtra.

Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis meets Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after taking oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

PM Narendra Modi congratulates Devendra Fadnavis on taking oath as Maharashtra CM.

Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde takes oath as Deputy CM of Maharashtra.

Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as CM for the third time. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national president JP Nadda, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, UP CM Yogi Adityanath and CMs & Deputy CMs of NDA-ruled states, Union Ministers, NDA leaders present at the swearing-in ceremony.

PM Modi arrives at the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan arrives at Azad Maidan, to administer oath of office to Maharashtra CM designate Devendra Fadnavis.

Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde, NCP chief Ajit Pawar arrive at Azad Maidan in Mumbai for the swearing-in ceremony.

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu arrives at Azad Maidan to attend the oath ceremony of the Maharashtra government in Mumbai.

Devotional singer Kanhiya Mittal performs at the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis at Azad Maidan in Mumbai.

Actor Ranveer Singh attends the oath ceremony of the Maharashtra government.

Union Ministers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Shivraj Singh Chouhan present at Azad Maidan in Mumbai to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis.

Maharashtra CM designate Devendra Fadnavis takes blessings from his mother ahead of oath-taking ceremony.

Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan arrived to attend the swearing-in ceremony.

Amit Shah, Eknath Shinde and Yogi Adityanath arrived at Mumbai's Azad Maidan. 

Kumar Mangalam Birla arrived to attend swearing-in ceremony. 

Sachin Tendulkar arrived at the  Azad Maidan to attend swearing-in ceremony. 

Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav arrives in Mumbai to attend oath ceremony of Maharashtra government.

Ahead of oath ceremony, Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis's wife, Amruta Fadnavis says," Ladki Behen has been a great project under which the women got associated with Devendra ji and the Mahayuti..."

Andhra Pradesh CM N Chandrababu Naidu arrives in Mumbai to attend the oath ceremony of the Maharashtra government.

Ahead of the oath ceremony, Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis's wife, Amruta Fadnavis says, "It is a beautiful day when Devendra ji has become MLA for the 6th time and for the third time he has got the CM post. We are happy about it but the sense of responsibility is greater."

Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath arrives in Mumbai to attend oath ceremony of Maharashtra government.

Preparations are underway at Azad Maidan in Mumbai for the swearing-in ceremony of Maharashtra CM.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Health and Family Welfare Minister JP Nadda reached Mumbai to attend the Maharashtra CM swearing-in ceremony. 

Rajasthan CM Bhajan Lal Sharma arrives in Mumbai to attend the oath ceremony of the Mahayuti government.

The meeting between Eknath Shinde and Girish Mahajan is over. The meeting lasted for about 1 hour. After the meeting, Girish Mahajan said 'All is well'.

(Dinesh Mourya)

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari arrived in Mumbai for the swearing-in ceremony of Devendra Fadnavis.

Supporters of NCP leader Ajit Pawar arrive at his residence in Mumbai, ahead of oath ceremony of Mahayuti govt.

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma arrives in Mumbai for the oath ceremony of the Maharashtra government.

Eknath Shinde to take oath as Deputy CM confirmed Uday Samant. Shinde's MLAs left for Raj Bhavan with a letter for Shinde.

With BJP leader Girish Mahajan meeting Eknath Shinde at Varsha it is now confirmed that the Shiv Sena leader will take oath as deputy Chief Minister.

Shiv Sena's Uday Samant, "Shinde Saheb will take positive decisions. No one other than Shinde Saheb will become Deputy Chief Minister. If he does not become the Deputy Chief Minister then no one will take the ministerial post. We have full confidence that Eknath Shinde will be the Deputy Chief Minister. Our leader is Eknath Shinde. Without him there will be no DCM in our party."

"Shinde era is over, it was just for two years. His usage is now over and he has been tossed aside. Shinde will never be the CM of this state again. They can even break Shinde's party, this has always been BJP's line in politics - they break and finish the party of those who work with them. Devendra Fadnavis will be the CM of the state from today. He has the majority but despite that, they were unable to form the Government for 15 days - it means that there is something wrong within their party or Mahayuti. This issue will start showing from tomorrow. They are not working in the interest of Maharashtra or the country. They have come together out of their selfishness...But people across the state have come out on the streets against the election results, that they do not accept it. Still, the state is getting the CM today, we welcome him..."

Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis offered prayers at Shree Siddhivinayak Temple on Thursday ahead of his swearing-in ceremony in the evening. He even visited Mumba Devi temple.

According to sources, Devendra Fadnavis has invited Sharad Pawar to attend the swearing-in ceremony at Azad Maidan. However, Sharad Pawar is in Delhi for an ongoing Parliament session and hence his chances of attending the swearing-in ceremony are less.

A cow has been brought to the residence of Maharashtra CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis for 'Gau Pujan', ahead of his swearing-in ceremony today.

The swearing-in ceremony will be a grand affair with nearly 42,000 attendees. PM Modi, several Union ministers, and chief ministers and deputy CMs of various states will attend the ceremony. Special arrangements have been made to accommodate 40,000 BJP supporters and a separate seating arrangement made for 2,000 VVIPs, including leaders from various religions. More than 4,000 police personnel have been deployed for security during the swearing-in ceremony.

On Wednesday, Fadnavis, joined by Shinde and Pawar, met with state Governor CP Radhakrishnan to formally stake claim to form the government, presenting letters of support from the coalition partners. Following this meeting, the governor extended an invitation for Fadnavis to lead the new government.

NCP head Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde are also expected to take oath as deputy chief ministers. 

BJP legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn-in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra today evening at a grand ceremony