Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024 | Challenge ahead is to meet people's expectations: Fadnavis

Mumbai: BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, all set to become Maharashtra Chief Minister for the third time, on Wednesday underlined the challenges before the new government and said the real struggle lies in fulfilling the people's expectations.

Speaking after being elected as leader of the state BJP legislature party ahead of Thursday's swearing-in ceremony, he also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for placing faith in him.

"Our responsibility has increased. We need to work harder. The struggle ahead is about meeting the expectations people have from us. We must work in tandem with our allies to achieve this," he said.

The Bharatiya Janata Party had the people's mandate in 2019 but "it was taken away", he said, apparently referring to the Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray severing its ties with the BJP over the chief minister's post and forming government in alliance with the Congress and undivided NCP.

"For the first two and a half years, we faced targeted opposition, but not a single MLA left us. We came to power in 2022, and now, we have achieved a thumping majority in this election," said the 54-year-old politician from Nagpur.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis said, "I thank the prime minister for selecting someone like me, who has worked as a party worker, to serve in this role three times. Ek hain to safe hai, aur Modi hain to Mumkin hai (United we are safe, and with Modi, everything is possible)."

The new Mahayuti government of the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party would be sworn in at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai on Thursday following the coalition's landslide victory in the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

Maharashtra Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Jharkhand Assembly poll 2024 results | Check constituency results here

Bypoll 2024 results | Check Karnataka results here

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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