Hopes of the BJP allying with its former partner were rekindled when Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray made a surprise appearance on the dais at the Wankhede Stadium after Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Maharashtra chief minister.
After Fadnavis and senior leader Eknath Khadse was sworn in, Sudhir Mungantiwar was taking oath when Thackeray, with wife Rashmi, entered the stadium amidst cheers by crowd.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP president Amit Shah welcomed him. After the swearing-in ceremony, Thackeray met all the senior leaders and newly-appointed ministers of the BJP government.
“I spoke to him, and Amit Shah also spoke to him. It was a good gesture by him,” Fadnavis told a news conference, adding that talks are under way with the Sena. Asked whether the Shiv Sena would join the government, Thackeray said: “Whenever we take (any) decision, it will be communicated to you.”
“The Shiv Sena is our natural ally. If they come to us, they are welcome. They have to take the call,” said BJP general secretary Om Prakash Mathur.
Former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, whose Nationalist Congress Party has declared “unconditional outside support” to the new government that it will abstain during the trust vote, said: “We came here to wish the new chief minister our best. We will support the new government in all their pro-people decisions.”
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