Eknath Shinde, the newly sworn-in Maharashtra chief minister, on Thursday tweeted his thanks to prime minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah, Bharatiya Janata Party president Jagat Prakash Nadda and his 'friend and colleague' Devendra Fadnavis.
Shinde tweeted shortly after he was announced as the new chief minister - replacing Uddhav Thackeray who quit last night - by Fadnavis, himself a former Maharashtra chief minister.
Fadnavis spoke to the press after the two met governor BS Koshiyari and staked claim to form the new government. Fadnavis, expected to take the top post for himself, said, "I won't be part of this government". He did, however, confirm the BJP would 'support from outside'.
"Fadnavis has a very big heart. I thank all who supported us. We will take the state towards the path of development," Shinde said in his tweet.
{{/usCountry}}"Fadnavis has a very big heart. I thank all who supported us. We will take the state towards the path of development," Shinde said in his tweet.
{{/usCountry}}"It was the decision by Fadnavis to make Balasaheb's shiv sainik the CM despite the BJP having more MLAs. Fadnavis could have become CM but he showed a big heart. I thank him."
Fadnavis, however, has been sworn in as deputy chief minister, accepting the post after what BJP president JP Nadda said was a personal intervention from senior leadership.
Shinde, meanwhile, also said he and the MLAs who had quit the Maha Vikas Aghadi, triggering a crisis that led to Uddhav Thackeray resigning under threat of a floor test, had done so for the 'development of Maharashtra and the constituencies of the MLAs'.
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"I had been apprising CM Thackeray about the issues MLAs were facing from time to time. There was no attention paid to it," Shinde declared.
Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar congratulated Shinde, "Congratulations to Eknath Shinde on his election as the new chief minister of Maharashtra! Sincerely hope that the interests of Maharashtra will be safeguarded by him,” tweeted Pawar.