Days after the Mahayuti alliance secured a resounding victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the state’s chief minister on December 5. Joining him at the oath-taking ceremony at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan were Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Ajit Pawar, both assuming the role of deputy chief ministers.
The grand event saw the presence of prominent leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several chief ministers, deputy chief ministers, and Union ministers from the BJP and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners.
Despite the Mahayuti coalition securing a decisive majority with 230 seats out of 288 in the Assembly, only the chief minister and two deputy chief ministers were sworn in. The absence of other ministers highlighted ongoing discussions over portfolio allocations among the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP, the three parties forming the coalition government. Under state regulations, the Maharashtra Cabinet can include up to 43 members, including the chief minister.
This marks Fadnavis’ third tenure as chief minister. He was first appointed in 2014, when he led the BJP to a landmark victory with 122 seats, completing a full five-year term.
Eknath Shinde, who served as chief minister from 2022 to 2024, took up the deputy chief minister role following last-minute deliberations. Shinde had expressed dissatisfaction over not retaining the top post but eventually agreed to the position just minutes before Amit Shah arrived in Mumbai.
The event was attended by business honchos, Bollywood starts and cricket stars. What hiked the glam quotient was not just A+ listers – but that they were all schmoozing…handshakes, smiles and a few bro hugs. When you get stars from biz, showbiz and sports to mingle and they seem to have a good time.
No one expected a landslide for BJP-led Mahayuti. Or that BJP will clock in at 137 (132 of its own plus 5 Independents) in a House where 145 is the majority mark. So, BJP wanted to send a message. The who’s who of Mumbai society was the glam part of it. The other part was rajneeti – you would have never seen a state-level swearing-in with so many Union cabinet heavyweights – Shah, Rajnath, Gadkari, Shivraj, Nirmala, Piyush, Scindia – and so many CMs in attendance. NDA CMs from Goa and Gujarat to Assam, and UP and Uttarakhand to Odisha and Andhra were there.
