Devendra Fadnavis Oath Ceremony: Fadnavis Visits Mumba Devi Temple Before Taking Oath as CM

Twelve days after the results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the Mahayuti alliance claimed to form the government on Wednesday (December 4). Today, on Thursday (December 5), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis will take the oath as the Chief Minister of the state for the third time. Alongside Fadnavis, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will take the oath as Deputy Chief Ministers. On Wednesday, Fadnavis, along with the state's Acting Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, met with Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan. The oath-taking ceremony will take place this evening at 5:30 PM at the historic Azad Maidan in Mumbai, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Ministers of NDA-governed states, and Union Ministers in attendance. In the Maharashtra Assembly elections, the BJP secured 132 seats, Shiv Sena got 57, and NCP won 41 seats. With a total of 230 seats, the Mahayuti will now form the government. However, there is some contention within Shiv Sena and NCP regarding which party will hold the position of number two in the alliance. Fadnavis is being credited for the BJP's strong victory in the Maharashtra Assembly elections. The 54-year-old, who has already served as the Chief Minister twice, will now take the reins for the third time. He was the Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019 and briefly held the position after the 2019 Assembly elections, with Ajit Pawar as the Deputy CM. Officials have stated that special arrangements have been made for 40,000 BJP supporters attending the oath-taking ceremony. Separate seating arrangements have been made for 2,000 VIPs, including religious leaders from various communities. Over 4,000 police officers will be deployed for security. Additionally, a platoon of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF), Quick Response Teams (QRT), Riot Control Teams, Delta, Combat Teams, and Bomb Disposal Units will also be stationed. The police have issued a traffic advisory for the event.