'BJP Was Backstabbed...': Maharashtra CM-Elect Fadnavis Set To Return, Thanks PM Modi

Last Updated:December 04, 2024, 13:35 IST

Maharashtra New CM: Devendra Fadnavis has been elected the leader of BJP Legislative Party unanimously

Maharashtra New CM: Devendra Fadnavis (Image: PTI)

Maharashtra Government Formation: In his first remarks after becoming the Maharashtra Chief Minister-elect, Devendra Fadnavis thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for trusting him with the post of head of state thrice. He said last month’s assembly polls proved “ek hai toh safe hai" and “Modi hai toh mumkin hai".

He said the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was backstabbed in the previous polls.

BJP leaders and workers across the state took part in celebrations after Fadnavis was named the party’s legislative party leader unanimously in a key meeting chaired by central observers Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Wednesday morning.

Expressing happiness over the development, BJP leader Ram Kadam said, there is a Diwali-like atmosphere in Maharashtra due to the selection of Devendra Fadnavis, adding that the party was looking at accomplishing more development works.

According to the latest inputs, Fadnavis will meet Mahayuti leaders, Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and NCP’s Aijt Pawar, at the Varsha bungalow at 2 pm to discuss the way forward and portfolios to different leaders. They are likely to meet Governor CP Radhakrishnan to state a claim to form the government in the state.

The BJP, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and the ist Congress Party, or NCP (Ajit Pawar faction)—together called the Mahayuti—won a resounding mandate in assembly election results on November 23, but power-sharing talks in the alliance led to a delay in the naming of the CM pick.

Devendra Fadnavis will be administered the oath at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on December 5 at 5:30 pm. PM Modi and other prominent BJP leaders are likely to attend the event.

The BJP, which alone won 132 of the state’s 288 seats, wanted Fadnavis as the chief minister, a claim supported by the NCP, which won 41 seats. The Sena, with 57 seats, however, maintained that it was Eknath Shinde who led the Mahayuti to the polls.

News18 reported on Tuesday night that Shinde, who took charge as the Chief Minister in mid-2022 after a political upheaval in the state, relented and accepted to take up a deputy role.

News politics 'BJP Was Backstabbed...': Maharashtra CM-Elect Fadnavis Set To Return, Thanks PM Modi