Devendra Fadnavis to be sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister for third time

BJP legislature party leader Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn-in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening at a grand ceremony here which would be attended by prime minister Narendra Modi.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde are expected to take oath as deputy chief ministers, sources said.  .

This is for the third time that Fadnavis (54), an MLA from Nagpur, will be sworn-in as the CM of Maharashtra.

The swearing-in ceremony will be held at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, where elaborate security arrangements have been made for the event.

The formation of the government under Fadnavis comes after two weeks of intense negotiations following the November 20 state assembly polls, the results of which were declared on November 23.

Fadnavis had emerged as the frontrunner for the coveted post following the BJP's strong showing in the elections as it secured 132 seats in the 288-member House.

Together with its allies Shiv Sena and NCP, the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition has a commanding majority of 230 seats.

On Wednesday, Fadnavis, joined by Shinde and Pawar, met with state Governor CP Radhakrishnan to formally stake claim to form the government, presenting letters of support from the coalition partners.

Following this meeting, the governor extended an invitation for Fadnavis to lead the new government.

At the legislature party meeting earlier on Wednesday, Fadnavis thanked the BJP legislators for reposing trust in him.

The swearing-in ceremony will be a grand affair with nearly 42,000 attendees, BJP leader Prasad Lad earlier said.

PM Modi, several Union ministers, and chief ministers and deputy CMs of various states will attend the ceremony, he said.

Special arrangements have been made to accommodate 40,000 BJP supporters and a separate seating arrangement made for 2,000 VVIPs, including leaders from various religions, he said.

More than 4,000 police personnel have been deployed for security during the swearing-in ceremony, an official said. (PTI)