BJPs Devendra Fadnavis during a press conference has announced Eknath Shinde as the new CM of Maharashtra.
On Wednesday, Uddhav Thackeray had resigned from the Chief Ministers post after the Supreme Court refused to stay the floor test, where the Shiv Sena-led MVA government would need to prove its majority.
Mr. Fadnavis and Mr. Shinde went to meet Governor BS Koshyari at Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to form the government.
Both addressed the media in a joint press conference post the meeting, where Mr. Shinde was announced to be the new Chief Minister. Mr. Shinde thanked Mr. Fadnavis as he spoke to the media at Raj Bhavan
‘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 & other BJP leaders that they showed generosity & made Balasaheb’s Sainik (party-worker) the CM of the state,’ Mr. Shinde told news agency ANI.
‘We went to former CM Thackeray with our constituency’s grievances & development work along with advising him on need for improvement as we started realizing that it would be difficult for us to win the next elections. We demanded for a natural alliance with BJP.
A total of 50 MLAs are with us, including 40 MLAs from 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’ Mr. Shinde added.
Mr. Fadnavis said the swearing-in ceremony would take place at 7:30 pm today. The former CM of Maharashtra will not be a part of the new government.
Update:
Devendra Fadnavis has decided to join the Maharashtra government on the request of BJP chief JP Nadda, tweets Union Home minister Amit Shah. Mr. Fadnavis will be sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.