‘Will work as a team’: Eknath Shinde on serving as deputy CM in Devendra Fadnavis' cabinet
Eknath Shinde, who served as chief minister of Maharashtra from 2022 till today, took oath as a deputy CM along with Ajit Pawar in Devendra Fadnavis' cabinet.
Maharashtra deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde on Thursday assured he will extend all possible cooperation to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and “work as a team”.
"I will extend all possible cooperation to the chief minister. We will work as a team," Shinde was quoted by PTI as saying, after he and Ajit Pawar took oath as deputy CMs in the new cabinet headed by Fadnavis.
Playing on the acronyms CM (chief minister) and DCM (deputy chief minister), Shinde said he worked as "common man" and will now be "dedicated to the common man".
Ending a suspense of three days, Shinde agreed to serve as deputy chief minister in Fadnavis' cabinet. The Shiv Sena leader, who served as the CM from 2022 to 2024 with Fadnavis as his deputy in those two years, had hesitated to confirm his cabinet position.
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According to an HT report, the BJP did not acquiesce to his demands for the home portfolio as deputy CM and the assembly speaker position for his party legislator.
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Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as CM for third time
Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra chief minister at a star-studded event headlined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Mumbai's Azad Maidan.
The 54-year-old leader has also become the state’s first deputy CM to become the CM.
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Those present at the ceremony included Union ministers Amit Shah, J P Nadda, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari and Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Chief ministers of various NDA-ruled states were also present, including Yogi Adityanath, Nitish Kumar, Himanta Biswa Sarma, Mohan Yadav and Pramod Sawant.
Also present were actors Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranbir Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and industrialist Mukesh Ambani.
After the event, PM Modi congratulated Fadnavis, Shinde and Ajit Pawar, saying,"“Congratulations to Shri Devendra Fadnavis Ji on taking oath as Maharashtra's Chief Minister. Congratulations to Shri Eknath Shinde Ji and Shri Ajit Pawar Ji on taking oath as the Deputy Chief Ministers of the state."
“This team is a blend of experience and dynamism, and it is due to this team's collective efforts that the Mahayuti has got a historic mandate in Maharashtra. This team will do everything possible to fulfil the aspirations of the people of the state and to ensure there is good governance. I assure all possible support from the Centre in furthering development in Maharashtra,” he added.
(With agency inputs)
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