Even as the suspense over the next Maharashtra chief minister continues days after the ruling coalition's landslide victory in the Assembly elections, the state BJP unit has said that the new Mahayuti government will be sworn in on December 5 in Mumbai.
The Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) retained power with a landslide victory in the assembly elections, the results of which were announced on November 23.
While the simple majority figure in the 288-member House is 145, the BJP alone bagged 132 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 57 and NCP with 41 seats. However, the government formation was delayed as the alliance failed to evolve consensus on who would be the chief minister.
Who Will Be New Maharashtra CM: What We Know So Far
BJP sources told PTI that Devendra Fadnavis, who has been chief minister twice and was deputy CM in the last Eknath Shinde-led government, is the frontrunner for the top post.
Shinde, who is holding the charge as caretaker chief minister and who headed to his native village Dare in Satara district a day before amid speculation that he was not happy with the way the new government was shaping up, has taken ill, an aide told the news agency on Saturday.
Eknath Shinde attended a meeting of the ruling alliance leaders with senior BJP leader Amit Shah in Delhi on Thursday night. Though he appeared to have ceded claim to the top post, indications that there were still some points of disagreements in the alliance emerged when a meeting of the allies in Mumbai on Friday was put off, and he instead left for his village.
Before that, he had made it clear that any decision on the chief minister's post by the top BJP leadership would be acceptable to him. The Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has already stated that Fadnavis was acceptable to it as chief minister.
As per multiple media reports, Shinde is under pressure from a group of Shiv Sena leaders who think he should not become a deputy CM, having been the chief minister for more than two years. Another group of party leaders insists that he must be part of the new government.
Maharashtra CM Oath Taking Ceremony: Date, Time And Venue
The swearing-in ceremony of the Maharashtra government will take place on December 5 at 5 p.m at the Azad Maidan ground in south Mumbai, said state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule in a post on X. PM Modi will attend the ceremony, he added.
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November 30, 2024
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विश्वगौरव माननीय प्रधानमंत्री श्री…Maharashtra Government Oath-Taking Ceremony: Where to Watch?
The Maharashtra government oath-taking ceremony will be telecast live on all television channels of NDTV group. The YouTube channel of NDTV Profit will also livestream the ceremony.
(With PTI inputs)
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