Maharashtra CM-designate Fadnavis stakes claim to form govt; oath ceremony on Dec 5 at 5.30 pm

Devendra Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde, and Ajit Pawar met the Governor to stake claim to form the government in Maharashtra. Fadnavis was named Chief Minister, with Shinde and Pawar's support, emphasizing unity within the Mahayuti alliance.

Key Mahayuti leaders, Maharashtra Chief Minister-elect and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, and Nationalist Congress Party’s Ajit Pawar, met Governor CP Radhakrishnan at Mumbai’s Raj Bhavan on Wednesday afternoon to stake claim to form the government.  The meeting comes shortly after the BJP ended the long-drawn suspense over the Chief Minister post, naming him for the position.

Addressing media, CM-designate Devendra Fadnavis said, "The posts of CM and DCM are just technical posts. We all will work together for Maharashtra. Other ministers will be decided in upcoming meetings. We have met the Governor and handed over the letter of support to stake claim to form the government in the state. Our alliance partners Shiv Sena and NCP have requested the Governor that I should be sworn in as Mahayuti CM. Governor accepted all the requests and invited us for the oath ceremony tomorrow at 5.30 pm..."

Giving "special thanks" to Eknath Shinde, he said, "Yesterday I requested Eknath Shinde to remain in power... The Chief Minister post is just a technical agreement between us... we have been together to take decisions and will continue to do so". 

Reiterating PM Modi's 'ek hai, safe hai' mantra, Fadnavis spoke at a party function following his selection as chief minister. It appeared to be a sign of unity among the Mahayuti alliance. Vijay Rupani, the party's observer in Mumbai, put forth Fadnavis's name for the top position at the BJP gathering. Senior BJP officials like Pankaja Munde and Sudhir Mungantiwar overwhelmingly supported the plan.