Finally rapprochement: Shinde congratulates CM designate Fadnavis

Mumbai: A day before the oath-taking ceremony of the new MahaYuti government takes place on Thursday, Maharashtra caretaker Chief Minister and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde congratulated Chief Minister designate Devendra Fadnavis on his election as the BJP Legislative Party leader and extended his best wishes at Varsha Bungalow in Mumbai.

More than 10 days after the MahaYuti's landslide win, Fadnavis will take oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde along with NCP's Ajit Pawar will take the oath as Deputy Chief Ministers in the new cabinet, sources said.

The oath-taking ceremony will take place at Mumbai's Azad Maidan and will see the participation of several NDA Chief Ministers and leaders.

Ending the long-drawn suspense over who would get the top job, Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar met Governor CP Radhakrishnan to stake their claim to form the MahaYuti government.

After meeting the Governor, Fadnavis said, "The swearing-in ceremony of the new government will be held tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. I met Eknath Shinde and requested him to join us in this government, as it is the wish of MahaYuti workers...We will fulfil the promises made to the people of Maharashtra."

Meanwhile, Eknath Shinde on Wednesday expressed his satisfaction with the two-and-a-half years of the MahaYuti government in Maharashtra, ahead of the swearing-in of Fadnavis as Chief Minister.

"I am very happy with the completion of two-and-a-half years. The work done by our government--the MahaYuti government--by the three of us and our team in the last 2.5 years is remarkable. It will be written in golden letters in history. We are proud to have taken such significant decisions," said Shinde.

It will be Fadnavis' third term in the top post after being unanimously elected as the Leader of the Maharashtra BJP Legislative Party on Wednesday.

The 2024 Maharashtra Assembly Election witnessed a resounding victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led MahaYuti alliance, which secured a landslide win with 235 seats out of 288.

The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.

The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also recorded notable gains, securing 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

While, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with Congress winning just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats.

IANS