Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], December 5 (HBTV): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time at a ceremony at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday. NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will also take oath as deputy chief ministers in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Azad Maidan is decked out with posters of Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar, marking the occasion. The event will be attended by several NDA chief ministers and prominent leaders.

The decision to appoint Fadnavis as CM comes after weeks of speculation. On Wednesday, Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar met Governor CP Radhakrishnan to stake their claim to form the Mahayuti government. Fadnavis was unanimously elected as the Leader of the Maharashtra BJP Legislative Party at a meeting held in Vidhan Bhawan, where former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, acting as BJP's central observer, announced the decision.

This marks Fadnavis' third term as Chief Minister. Despite initial aspirations by Eknath Shinde for the top post, he later backed the BJP’s decision to nominate Fadnavis, citing support for PM Modi’s leadership.

In 2019, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar had previously taken oath together in an early morning ceremony at Raj Bhavan, signaling a similar alliance.

The recent Maharashtra Assembly elections saw a decisive victory for the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance, which secured 235 seats. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats, while Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

Meanwhile, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered significant losses. Congress secured just 16 seats, Shiv Sena (UBT) won 20, and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) managed only 10 seats.

(ANI)