Eknath Shinde Takes Oath As Maharashtra CM, Fadnavis To Be Deputy CM

Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra a day after Uddhav Thackeray resigns from the post for losing majority in the State Assembly.

The development threw up a big surprise in this political crisis when everyone was expecting that BJP leader and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in for the post. Fadnavis will be Shinde’s deputy in the new government,

Addressing a press conference after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and staking claim to form government, Devendra Fadnavis along with Eknath Shinde addressed the media making public the decision over the chief ministership.

Eknath Shinde-faction MLAs, staying at a hotel in Goa, celebrated after he was announced as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra. There were posts on social media showing the legislators dancing before a large TV screen that announced his candidature.

Shinde thanked Fadnavis saying, “The BJP has 120 MLAs but despite that Devendra Fadnavis didn’t take the post of CM. I express my gratitude to him along with PM Modi, Amit Shah & other BJP leaders that they showed generosity and made Balasaheb’s Sainik (party-worker) the CM of the state.”

The 31-month tenure of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government collapsed after over 40 MLAs mostly of Shiv Sena and independents rebelled against the coalition government led by Uddhav Thackeray.

The political drama which went on for weeks began after MLC election results were declared on June 21. On the night of the results, Shinde along with over 15 MLAs left for Surat where they camped for a few days. As the crisis unfolded, more MLAs of Shiv Sena rebelled against the top leader leadership and MVA govt, and joined Shinde’s camp. 

Shinde along with rebels left for Guwahati. As crisis deepened further and Uddhav Thackeray started to lose grip at his government, more Sena MLAs joined Shinde in Guwahati. When the rebels felt that there strength was enough to topple the government, the Shinde faction wrote to governor that they were the real Shiv Sena and staked claim to form the government.