NEW DELHI: Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekar Bawankule on Saturday said the new Mahayuti government would be sworn in on December 5, even as the suspense over the CM’s face remains largely intact.
“The oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti Government in Maharashtra will be held in the presence of Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 5 PM at Azad Maidan, Mumbai,” state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule stated on X on Saturday evening.
Also read: Health of Maharashtra caretaker CM Eknath Shinde deteriorates, placed under medical observation in his native village
Bawankule’s confirmation of the date comes hours after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat hinted that the oath-taking event should take place on or before December 5.
A series of deliberations has taken place between Mahayuti allies and BJP’s top brass over the CM face and the allocations of portfolios. However, the leaders have not placed any name in the public even a week after storming back to power with an unprecedented mandate.
On Thursday, Mahayuti’s leadership, including caretaker CM and Shiv Sena supremo Eknath Shinde, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s Ajit Pawar, huddled at Union home minister Amit Shah’s house to expedite the state government formation talks.
Before the talks at Shah’s house, Eknath Shinde had expressed his complete support for the BJP leadership’s choice of the next chief minister, stating he would not obstruct the process.
However, his visit to his native village in Satara raised eyebrows as it reportedly delayed the finalisation of the government formation process.
Speaking on Shinde’s visit, Shirsat said: “Whenever Eknath Shinde thinks that he needs some time to think he goes to his native village.”
“By tomorrow evening, he (Eknath Shinde) will take a big decision. It can be anything, a political decision. The oath-taking ceremony should be held before the 5th December.” “Whenever Eknath Shinde thinks that he needs some time to think he goes to his native village,” he told news agency ANI.
The Mahayuti of BJP, Shiv Sena and the NCP won a landslide in Maharashtra completely decimating the opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA).
With 236 seats, the ruling coalition has retained power in the state with a thumping two-thirds majority in the 288-member assembly.
The BJP has emerged as the biggest winner of this election winning 132 seats on its own at a whopping strike rate of nearly 90 per cent. This is 27 seats more than its tally five years back.
The Shiv Sena and NCP also outperformed their rival factions in the opposition bloc. Sena with 57 seats and the NCP with 41 seats decimated the opposition, inflicting on the Congress party its worst-ever defeat in the state.