Will extend all possible cooperation to Devendra Fadnavis and work as team, says Maharashtra Deputy CM Eknath Shinde

Pic/PTI

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday said he would extend all possible cooperation to Chief Minister (CM) Devendra Fadnavis and work as a team, news agency PTI reported.

Addressing a news conference, Shinde described his tenure as chief minister as very successful.

"I will extend all possible cooperation to the chief minister. We will work as a team," Shinde told reporters, according to PTI.

Playing on the acronyms CM (chief minister) and DCM (deputy chief minister), Shinde said he worked as a "common man" and would now be "dedicated to the common man".

Scripting a powerful comeback, Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra CM on Thursday evening, while Shinde and Ajit Pawar, the leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, were sworn in as deputy CMs at a grand ceremony in south Mumbai's sprawling Azad Maidan.

Immediately after the ceremony, the three leaders drove together to Mantralaya, the state secretariat, where Fadnavis chaired the maiden cabinet meeting of the new regime and also addressed a press conference.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union ministers, and CMs of various states, apart from thousands of supporters of the Mahayuti alliance. The leaders took the oath almost a fortnight after the results of the state assembly elections were declared on 23 November.

Opposition MVA skips swearing-in ceremony

However, the opposition leaders were conspicuous by their absence at the starstruck event, which was preceded by a musical show by the music composer brothers Ajay and Atul Gogavale.

No other ministers were sworn in. The ministry will be expanded next week, ahead of the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur, PTI stated, quoting a BJP leader.

Those present at the ceremony included Union Ministers Amit Shah, JP Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, and Shivraj Singh Chouhan. CMs of various National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-ruled states, who were present at the function, included Yogi Adityanath (Uttar Pradesh), Nitish Kumar (Bihar), Himanta Biswa Sarma (Assam), Mohan Yadav (Madhya Pradesh), and Pramod Sawant (Goa).

Also present were actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor, and Madhuri Dixit, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar, and industrialist Mukesh Ambani.

"Congratulations to Shri Devendra Fadnavis Ji on taking oath as Maharashtra's Chief Minister. Congratulations to Shri Eknath Shinde Ji and Shri Ajit Pawar Ji on taking oath as the Deputy Chief Ministers of the state," Modi said on X after the ceremony.

"This team is a blend of experience and dynamism, and it is due to this team's collective efforts that the Mahayuti has got a historic mandate in Maharashtra. This team will do everything possible to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the state and to ensure there is good governance. I assure all possible support from the Centre in furthering development in Maharashtra," Modi added.

Fadnavis approves Rs 5-lakh aid to bone marrow transplant patient

Fifty-four-year-old Fadnavis, who won the polls from the Nagpur South West Constituency, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor CP Radhakrishnan, who also swore in Shinde (60) and Pawar (65).

While this is Fadnavis's third term as CM, Pawar took oath for the sixth time as deputy CM. Fadnavis has also become the state's first deputy CM to become the CM.

Signing his first file after taking charge of office, Fadnavis approved a proposal to provide financial assistance of ₹5 lakh for a patient awaiting a bone marrow transplant. Pune-based Chandrakant Kurhade's wife had sought help from the CM's relief fund for her husband's treatment. Fadnavis signed on the file before he chaired the first cabinet meeting.

"Our government will work with transparency for the welfare of the people," Fadnavis told reporters at Mantralaya after the swearing-in ceremony.

"We don't want to indulge in vendetta politics," he said, referring to the fewer numbers of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) in the legislature.

Fadnavis also called for an "overhaul of political culture" in the state. There should be political communication, he said, referring to the invitation for the swearing-in ceremony extended by him to prominent opposition leaders such as Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray, who did not attend the event.

Incidentally, Fadnavis had attended the oath-taking ceremony of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in 2019.

The state cabinet, in its first meeting held in the evening, recommended to the Governor that the assembly session to administer the oath to new legislators be held from Saturday, and the election of the House Speaker be held on the last day of the session, on December 9.

Hours before Fadnavis took oath as CM for the third time, his banker and singer wife Amruta called it a "beautiful day."

"This is a happy occasion and the sense of responsibility is greater," she said.

Fadnavis emerged as the frontrunner for the top post as he was the face of the BJP's campaign and led the party to victory in 132 seats in the 288-member House.

The BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP 'Mahayuti' coalition has a commanding majority of 230 seats.

A delegation of the ruling Mahayuti alliance met the Governor at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, soon after Fadnavis was unanimously elected state BJP legislature party leader.

Fadnavis, who has served as chief minister twice, led the BJP-Shiv Sena government from 2014 to 2019. After the 2019 elections, when the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena broke ties with the BJP over the CM post, Fadnavis was sworn in again with Ajit Pawar as his deputy.

However, that government lasted only 72 hours due to Pawar's failure to secure sufficient support from NCP MLAs.

(With PTI inputs)