Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra CM, Shinde and Pawar get deputy CM post

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by over 42,000 attendees, including high-profile guests like Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, and Kumar Mangalam Birla.

Devendra Fadnavis today took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time in a grand ceremony in Mumbai's Azad Maidan. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other dignitaries.

This is Devendra Fadnavis' third term as the Maharashtra Chief Minister.

This is Fadnavis' third term as the Maharashtra Chief Minister. Along with the BJP leader, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar were also sworn in as deputy chief ministers of Maharashtra.

Asked when other ministers would take oath, BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar said, ""It is most likely that the council of ministers will be sworn in before the winter session of the assembly starts, so as to avoid administrative disruption."

Intense power-sharing discussions

The new government formation comes after two weeks of intense negotiations between parties within the Mahayuti alliance, which emphatically won the Maharashtra assembly elections.

Together with allies Shiv Sena and NCP, the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition has a commanding majority of 230 seats. The BJP alone won 132.

Star-studded ceremony

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by over 42,000 attendees, including high-profile guests like Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit, Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Mangalam Birla. In addition to PM Modi, several Union ministers, chief ministers, and deputy CMs from various states were present at Mumbai's Azad Maidan.

Special arrangements were made to accommodate 40,000 BJP supporters, while a separate seating area was set aside for 2,000 VVIPs, including religious leaders. Over 4,000 police personnel were deployed for security.

Fadnavis' third term

Fadnavis, who has served as chief minister twice, led the BJP-Shiv Sena government from 2014 to 2019. After the 2019 elections, when the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena broke ties with the BJP over the CM post, Fadnavis was sworn in again with Ajit Pawar as his deputy. However, this government lasted only 72 hours due to Pawar’s failure to secure sufficient support from NCP MLAs. Following a split in the Shiv Sena, Fadnavis became deputy CM under the Mahayuti government led by Shinde.