Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | BJP's Devendra Fadnavis to be sworn in as CM on December 5

Fadnavis had been Maharashtra CM twice - for five years from October 2014 to October 2019 and for 80 hours in November 2019.

Mumbai: With the core message of ‘Ek hai to safe hai’ and ‘Modi hai toh mumkin hai’, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis is set to become the 31st Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

NCP President Ajit Pawar would be the Deputy CM and head the Finance ministry.

However, suspense continues over whether outgoing CM and Shiv Sena chief leader Eknath Shinde would work as a Deputy CM.

The imbroglio seems to be over the Home ministry which Shinde was insisting on, however, the BJP high-command and Fadnavis do not want to part with it.

In lieu of that, BJP has offered the Urban Development ministry.

At the time of going to press, there were indications that Shinde may accept the arrangement as Fadnavis, the CM-designate held two back-to-back close-door meetings with the outgoing CM and urged him to take up the role of Deputy CM.

In presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Governor C P Radhakrishnan will administer oath of office and secrecy to Fadnavis on Thursday, the eve of Mahaparinirvan Din, the death anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Constitution.

With a whopping over 80 per cent majority in the 288-member Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Fadnavis has a major task cut out because of strong allies and his personal equations with its leaders.

The third-term CM Fadnavis, however, indicated some tough calls as he has to manage an alliance which involves Shinde and Pawar, a five-time Deputy CM.

After the BJP legislature meeting, Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar met at Varsha Bungalow, the official CM residence at Malabar Hill and headed for Raj Bhavan where they formally staked the claim to form the government.

While Fadnavis staked the claim, Shinde and Pawar extended letters to support proposing him as the CM.

Thanking Shinde, Fadnavis said: “I requested Shinde to remain in the government, which I hope he would… the post of CM is just a technical agreement between us... we have been together to take decisions and will continue to do so".

“Two-and-a-half years ago, Fadnavis recommended my name to become the CM. This time, we (Shiv Sena and NCP) recommend his name to become the Chief Minister," said Shinde, adding that he would convey the decision by evening. “There is time, tomorrow is the swearing in,” he said.

On a lighter vein, Pawar, however, said: “By evening, he (Shinde) will convey…I will take it (oath), I will not wait.”

On Tuesday and Wednesday evening, Fadnavis met Shinde over back-to-back closed-door parleys as things seemed to complicate.

“There would be one CM and two Deputy CMs who would be sworn in,” said former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, who was the BJP observer along with Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

On the road ahead, Fadnavis said: “I want to tell you all that in the next few days, there will be things of our wish and a few things will be against our wishes but we all have to work in the larger interest of the state and the country. We will try to fulfil all expectations of Maharashtra”.

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLAs and members of the party's core team urged Shinde to join the government as a Deputy CM.

"It is the desire of all of us that Shinde should be part of the government and that too as a Deputy CM," Shiv Sena MLAs Uday Samant and Bharat Gogawale said.

"We have requested him to be part of the government," said Sawant, who is among the senior most leaders and considered very close to Shinde besides his excellent equations with Fadnavis and Pawar.

"The Shiv Sainiks...our MLAs and MPs want Shinde to be part of the new government," he said.

"We have requested him and we hope that he will honour our requests," added Gogawale.

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Assembly Elections 2024 | The Maharashtra Assembly polls took place against the backdrop of a fractured political landscape in the western state where the Shiv Sena and NCP went up against the Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar factions, even as the BJP and Congress tried to make their mark. Maha Yuti are currently comfortably poised to win. Meanwhile, in Jharkhand, the JMM faced a challenge after Hemant Soren's arrest and Champai, a longstanding party member, joining the BJP, but look set to retain power with its I.N.D.I.A. allies. Check live updates and track the latest coverage, live news, in-depth opinions, and analyses only on Deccan Herald.

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