- Wednesday, May 15, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
EKNATH Shinde, the rebel leader of Shiv Sena who led the revolt against his own party’s leadership and the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi or Maharashtra Development Front) coalition government including the Nationalist Congress Party and the Indian National Congress till it collapsed on Wednesday (29), became the new chief minister of the state and was set to take oath on Thursday (30), succeeding Uddhav Thackeray.
The announcement was made by Devendra Fadnavis, former chief minister of Maharashtra and leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the single-largest party in the state assembly which sat in the opposition since the MVA government took over in 2019. Fadnavis, who has been the chief minister twice, was set to become the deputy chief minister.
ALSO READ: Modi’s BJP eyes return to power in India’s richest state Maharashtra
He made the announcement after meeting governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to stake claim to form the government. He also said that Shinde will take oath as the chief minister at 7.30 pm local time.
“Eknath Shinde to be the Maharashtra Chief Minister, oath ceremony to be held at 7.30 pm today,” Fadnavis told media persons in a press conference in Mumbai.
The BJP has 106 legislators in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly (287 at the moment after the death of one Sena legislator) while Shinde is leading 39 rebel Sena lawmakers and some independents. The magical figure required to form the government is 144.
Earlier in the day, Shinde, who had been leading the rebellion against Thackeray, met Fadnavis at the latter’s residence on Thursday. Shinde and his loyalists were in a luxury hotel in Guwahati in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam, which is also ruled by the BJP, for more than a week before returning to Mumbai. However, Thackeray stepped down from the chief minister’s post before the floor test was held on Thursday.
Deepak Kesarkar, a spokesperson of the Shinde camp, said earlier on Thursday that the rebels gave Shinde full authority to take a decision on the cabinet berth-sharing in the government.
He said that they did not revolt for the cabinet berths, but for the development of the state.
Clearing the air around the distribution of portfolios with the BJP, Shinde had said that there has been no discussion, but talks will happen soon.
Shinde also thanked Fadnavis for his support. He said, “Fadnavis has a very big heart. I thank all who supported us.”
