Uddhav Thackeray leaves YB chavan centre after meeting with Sena, Congress and NCP leaders. He will take oath as chief minister tomorrow (Express photo by Nirmal Harindran)
Maharashtra Government Formation HIGHLIGHTS: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Wednesday invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be a part of his oathtaking ceremony as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday. The new Maharashtra government will have only one deputy chief minister from NCP and the Speaker will be from the Congress, while his deputy will be from the NCP, party leader Praful Patel said Thursday after NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena MLAs meeting. Meanwhile, former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has been elected as the Leader of the Opposition by the BJP.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will on Thursday take oath of the chief minister of Maharashtra, becoming the first in the Thackeray clan to hold the coveted post. Thackeray, 59, will be the third Sena leader after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane to occupy the top post. Among the invitees are all Congress chief ministers, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, DMK chief MK Stalin, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra CM-designate Uddhav Thackeray and wife Rashmi Thackeray met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan. Meanwhile, NCP leader Ajit Pawar, whose brief support to the BJP ruffled quite a few feathers in the new three-party coalition, today said joining hands with the BJP wasn’t a revolt and that he was, is and will always be in the NCP.
A special session of the state Assembly was convened to administer oath to members in the 288-member House by pro-tem Speaker Kalidas Kolambkar. NCP leader Ajit Pawar was greeted with thumping of desks by NCP members when he went to the podium to take oath. Ahead of the special session, Pawar greeted cousin Supriya Sule with a hug outside the Assembly.
On Tuesday, Devendra Fadnavis tendered his resignation — the shortest tenure of a government in Maharashtra — following the Supreme Court’s order for a floor test. Fadnavis’ resignation is not just the loss of power in the country’s financial hub, but a second misadventure for the BJP within 18 months. This will hurt the party brass more than the fall of the earlier Karnataka government because this time the offices of the President and PM were dragged in to impose President’s Rule and to revoke it later.
Devendra Fadnavis stepped down as Maharashtra Chief Minister after taking oath on Saturday
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray Wednesday invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be a part of his oathtaking ceremony as the new chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday.
Picture of Bal Thackeray and Indira Gandhi seen on a poster near Sena Bhavan. Poster states, "Balasheb Thackeray's dream fulfilled, Chief Minister from Shiv Sena".
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray invited former Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the swearing-in ceremony of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister of Maharashtra tomorrow. "We came here to seek her (Sonia Gandhi) wishes and blessings for the new government. We have invited a lot of leaders. We are also seeking Dr Manmohan Singh's good wishes," news agency ANI quoted him as saying.
Shiv Sena leader Aditya Thackeray and PA of Uddhav Thackeray Milind Narvekar invited Sonia Gandhi to the swearing-in ceremony of the Sena chief tomorrow
Praful Patel, NCP after attending a meeting of NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena MLAs in Mumbai: There will be only one Deputy Chief Minister and that will be from NCP.
"How many ministers will take oath will be decided tonight. 1 or 2 MLAs from each party will take oath as ministers. Speaker has been decided by all three parties, Speaker will be from Congress and Deputy Speaker from NCP," news agency ANI quoted him as saying
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray has arrived at the residence of Congress president Sonia Gandhi to invite her for the swearing-in ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray as the chief minister tomorrow.
Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray will be in Delhi tonight to invite Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi for the swearing-in ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, tomorrow
Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray, Congress's Ahmed Patel and other 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' leaders leave after attending the meeting of Congress-Shiv Sena-NCP MLAs at Y.B. Chavan Center.
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The BJP has elected former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis as the Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly
Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will take oath as the 18th chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday. Thackeray, 59, will be the third Sena leader after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane to occupy the top post.
On Thursday (November 28) evening, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will take oath as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra, heading a government of the Maha Vikas Aghadi that will also include the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress.
The ceremony will take place at the historic Shivaji Park maidan, a 28-acre open space in the Marathi-dominated Dadar neighbourhood of central Mumbai. Shivaji Park is a prized bastion of the Shiv Sena, and holds immense emotional value for the party. READ MORE HERE
Poster of Ajit Pawar put up in Baramati by Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers. Poster states "...let us decide now what you should or should not do. Whole Maharashtra is looking towards you as a future Chief Minister".
The CPI(M) on Wednesday said it will not oppose formation of the new Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress to ensure that the BJP does not return to power.
The party also demanded sacking of Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for playing a "partisan role at the behest of the Prime Minister and the Home Minister".
The CPI(M) issued a statement on Wednesday, a day after the four-day-old BJP government of Devendra Fadnavis supported by NCP's Ajit Pawar collapsed due to lack of majority in House. The party has one MLA in the 288-member Legislative Assembly.
"To ensure that the BJP does not return to power, the CPI (M) has decided that it will not oppose the formation of the new Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government," it stated.
(PTI)
Back in the NCP fold, party leader Ajit Pawar said him supporting the short-lived BJP government was not a "revolt". "Did NCP remove me? Did you read about my removal from NCP?" news agency PTI quoted him as saying. Although Pawar was removed as the NCP legislative leader on his supporting the BJP, his party membership was not revoked.
Maharashtra caretaker Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday said he will speak at the "right time" about the support extended by NCP leader Ajit Pawar to the BJP in forming the government last week, which collapsed on Tuesday.
"I will speak about it at the right time," Fadnavis said when asked by reporters on the Vidhan Bhavan premises about the support extended by Ajit Pawar to the BJP in forming a government on November 23.
The BJP formed government on November 23 morning after Ajit Pawar broke ranks with the NCP and aligned with the saffron party. Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar then took oath as CM and deputy CM, respectively. The four-day-old government, however, collapsed on Tuesday, after Ajit Pawar resigned citing "personal reasons".
Fadnavis also stepped down.
CM-designate Uddhav Thackeray has arrived at YB Chavan centre, in Mumbai for the meeting of Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena MLAs. He will take oath as the Chief Minister of the state tomorrow.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha during the ongoing Winter session of the Parliament, Home Minister Amit Shah Wednesday hit out at the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance in Maharashtra, saying "parties with opposite ideologies have joined hands only to grab power."
A special session of the 14thMaharashtra Legislative Assembly commenced to administer oath to the newly-elected members. MORE PHOTOS HERE
NCP leader Supriya Sule welcomes newly-elected Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray at Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan in Mumbai (Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)
NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal shows victory sign after being sworn in as MLA at Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan, in Mumbai (Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)
Newly-elected NCP MLA Rohit Pawar and first time Sena MLA Aaditya Thackeray at Maharashtra Vidhan Bhawan (Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)
Back in fold, Ajit Pawar attends a meeting of NCP MLAs in Mumbai.
Vijay Wadettiwar, Congress said all Congress Chief Ministers have been invited to attend the oath-taking ceremony of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray tomorrow. DMK leader MK Stalin, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have also been invited.