In a major political twist, rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde will take oath as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday night. The surprise announcement was made by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis who will take oath as the deputy chief minister.
Though Fadnavis said he would stay out of the government, the former chief minister later accepted the BJP central leadership's “request” to be Shinde's deputy.
At a joint press meet with Shinde at Raj Bhawan after meeting Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Fadnavis launched a scathing attack on the Uddhav Thackeray camp.
Shiv Sena insulted the mandate of the people in 2019 and formed alliance with those who are against Hindutva and Veer Savarkar, he said.
“On one hand, Shiv Sena opposed Dawood (Ibrahim) and on the other hand, they kept such a man in the cabinet who went to jail on allegations of helping Dawood,” the former chief minister said an apparent dig at NCP leader Nawab Malik who is in jail in connection with a money laundering case allegedly involving relatives of the gangster.
Fadnavis said in 2019, the BJP and the Shiv Sena had an alliance and it got required numbers in the Assembly elections. “We hoped to form the government but Shiv Sena chose to get into an alliance with those against whom Balasaheb protested throughout his life,” he said.
"Eknath Shinde will be the Maharashtra chief minister. The oath taking ceremony will be held at 7.30pm today," Fadnavis announced, adding that the cabinet will be expanded after the swearing-in ceremony. “Shiv Sena and BJP leaders will take the oath. I will stay out of the government,” he said.
Speaking at the press meet, Shinde claimed to have the support of 50 MLAs. “The decision that we have taken is committed to Balasaheb's Hindutva and for the development work in the constituencies of our MLAs,” he said, adding that the Sena MLAs had been requesting Thackeray to form alliance with the BJP.
“The BJP has 120 MLAs, but despite that Devendra Fadnavis didn't take the post of CM. I express my gratitude to him, along with PM Modi, Amit Shah and other BJP leaders that they showed generosity and made a Balasaheb's Sainik (party-worker) the CM of the state,” Shinde said.
“A total of 50 MLAs are with us, including 40 MLAs from the Shiv Sena. We have fought this battle so far with their help. I will not let even a scratch mar the trust that these 50 people have placed in me, let alone break that trust,” he further said.
Earlier, Fadnavis and Shinde visited Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and staked claim to form the government. The rebel MLAs arrived in Mumbai this morning a day after Thackeray resigned as the chief minister following the Supreme Court's order denying a stay for the floor test in the Assembly.
