JOIN USBharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis is all set to be sworn in as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
“It is going to be a people’s government,” 44-year-old Fadnavis said, after being unanimously elected leader of BJP legislature party at the Vidhan Bhavan here.
Later, he called on Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan and staked to form the next government. Rao has given him 15 days to prove majority in the Assembly. Soon after the meeting, the Governor appointed Fadnavis as the Chief Minister.
In his letter, the governor asked Fadnavis to prove that his government enjoys majority support in the Assembly within 15 days of taking over as the Chief Minister.
Fadnavis will be administered oath of office and secrecy at 4.30 pm on October 31 at Wankhede stadium in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Several of his Union Cabinet ministers and chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and BJP President Amit Shah will also be present. Fadnavis’s name was proposed by Leader of Opposition in the outgoing Assembly Eknath Khadse and seconded by his counterpart in the Council Vinod Tawde, Sudhir Mungantiwar and Pankaja Munde-Palve.
The resolution proposing Fadnavis as the leader of the BJP legislature party was unanimously approved by the newly elected MLAs in the presence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP general secretary in-charge of Maharashtra J P Nadda, who were appointed central observers for the election. BJP general secretaries Om Prakash Mathur and Rajiv Pratap Rudy too were present.
“Rajnath has declared him as the leader of the BJP legislature party,” Nadda declared.
The choice for the top job has not been easy – as earlier Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari flexed his muscle – though he denied that he was in race and clarified that he was happy in New Delhi. Khadse too was keen in the job given his seniority. But Fadnavis had the endorsement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah.
During the election campaign, Modi had described him as a gift of Nagpur to the people of Maharashtra.