Hummingbird News Desk
NEW DELHI, 30 JUNE: Capping off a series of startling political events of the past 10 days, Eknath Shinde on Thursday evening took oath as the new chief minister of Maharashtra at the Raj Bhavan. Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the deputy chief minister.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to Eknath Sambhaji Shinde as the 20th Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis as the Deputy CM.
The oath-taking ceremony came a day after former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray resigned his post in the wake of a major rebellion in the Shiv Sena legislators that led to the collapse of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
After a string of fast-paced developments, the BJP decided to support a minority government headed by Shinde from outside.
Later, following directives of the party top brass like President J.P. Nadda, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and even Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis – former two-time CM – finally agreed to join the new regime as the No 2 and Deputy CM.
The two-member cabinet will be expanded soon with more MLAs inducted as ministers from the Shinde group of Shiv Sena and the BJP, according to party sources.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis on being sworn-in as the chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively.
“I would like to congratulate Shri @mieknathshinde Ji on taking oath as Maharashtra CM. A grassroots level leader, he brings with him rich political, legislative and administrative experience. I am confident that he will work towards taking Maharashtra to greater heights,” he tweeted.
“Congratulations to Shri @Dev_Fadnavis Ji on taking oath as Maharashtra Deputy CM. He is an inspiration for every BJP Karyakarta. His experience and expertise will be an asset for the Government. I am certain he will further strengthen Maharashtra’s growth trajectory,” the prime minister tweeted.
Shinde, who served as the urban development minister in the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government, rebelled against Shiv Sena boss and then chief minister Uddhav Thackeray. He along with 39 other Sena MLAs camped at a hotel in Guwahati and later in Goa, reducing the Aghadi government to a minority.
After the Supreme Court refused to put a stay on the governor’s decision to hold a floor test on Thursday, Thackeray resigned from his post last Wednesday night.
Tags: #MaharashtraCM #EknathShinde #DebendraFadnavis #ShivSena #BJP
