Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis is set to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra at Azad Maidan, Mumbai, on Thursday.
The ceremony will also witness the swearing-in of two Deputy Chief Ministers: Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is also expected to attend the event.
Posters featuring Maharashtra CM-designate Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar have been prominently displayed around Azad Maidan ahead of the event. The trio recently met Governor CP Radhakrishnan to stake their claim to form the Mahayuti government, ending weeks of speculation over leadership.
This marks Fadnavis’ third term as Chief Minister. He was unanimously elected as the Leader of the Maharashtra BJP Legislative Party on Wednesday, with former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani, BJP’s central observer, announcing the decision during a meeting at Vidhan Bhawan.
Notably, in 2019, Fadnavis and Pawar had taken their oaths in a similar early morning ceremony at Raj Bhavan.
The BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a landslide victory in the 2024 Maharashtra Assembly elections, securing 235 seats. The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats, while Shiv Sena and NCP secured 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback. Congress managed just 16 seats, while its allies Shiv Sena (UBT) and the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) won 20 and 10 seats, respectively.