MUMBAI: Devendra Fadnavis was unanimously elected as the Maharashtra BJP legislature party leader at its meeting here on Wednesday, paving the way for his appointment as the chief minister.
The swearing-in ceremony will be held on December 5 at 5.30 at Azad Maidan, Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders.
Fadnavis' name was finalised for the top post at the BJP's core committee meeting held here ahead of the legislature party meeting, sources said.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said leaders of the Mahayuti coalition will meet Governor CP Radhakrishnan at 3.30 pm on Wednesday to stake a claim to form government.
Fadnavis stated that, in the new government, things may not go according to plan, so people should be ready to accept changes in the power structure.
“The way people of Maharashtra voted for us is unprecedented, therefore I humbly bow before them. I am grateful to the people of Maharashtra and those who supported me. This is a big victory and it comes with big responsibility. We have to work with a larger goal without any expectations and demands,” Fadnavis added.
Addressing the press conference later, Fadnavis clarified that he had worked as deputy chief minister under chief minister Eknath Shinde in a very friendly way.
“We three (Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar ) had no major difference in the last two and a half years of government. I supported Shinde as Chief Minister and I am happy that today, his party’s 57 MLAs and Ajit Pawar-led NCP’s 41 MLAs are supporting me for the chief minister. We all are one," he said.
"The chief minister post is just a technical difference among us. I am confident that we will work hard and fulfil promises given to people during the election campaign,” Fadnavis said.
Union minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani were present at the BJP legislature party meeting held at the Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai. The BJP had appointed Sitharaman and Rupani as central observers for the meet.
On Tuesday, Fadnavis met caretaker Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde at his official residence, 'Varsha', the first in-person meeting since their discussions in Delhi last week for government formation.
Notably, TNIE had earlier reported that Shinde had agreed to take charge as deputy chief minister within the BJP-led new Mahayuti government.
While details of the hour-long meeting between Shinde and Fadnavis yesterday remain unclear, some political observers view it as an outreach effort by the BJP to placate an ally which is weighing its options, while others believe it served as a preliminary discussion regarding the swearing-in ceremony set for December 5.
The BJP achieved remarkable success in the November 20 Maharashtra elections, securing 132 out of the 288 assembly seats in the state, marking its best performance in the state so far. Together with its allies -- the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar's NCP, the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition has a commanding majority of 230 seats.
