Bharatiya Janata Party leader Devendra Fadnavis will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra.
The announcement was made by Fadnavis shortly after the Mahayuti alliance leaders met Governor CP Radhakrishnan and staked claim to form the government on Wednesday.
Fadnavis said that he has requested caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde to be a part of the new government.
The BJP leader did not specify if Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar will take oath as deputy chief ministers.
The swearing-in ceremony will take place at 5.30 pm on Thursday. The event will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It was yet to be decided who would take oath as ministers, said Fadnavis.
Earlier in the day, Fadnavis was unanimously elected as the leader of the BJP’s legislative party in Maharashtra.
The Mahayuti alliance comprising the BJP, the Shiv Sena group led by Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party faction led by Ajit Pawar won the state Assembly election on November 23 by a landslide, securing 230 out of 288 seats.
The BJP emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. The Shinde Sena won in 57 seats and Ajit Pawar’s NCP group won in 41 constituencies.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi – comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), the NCP group led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress – won 46 seats.
At the press conference on Wednesday, Shinde reiterated his stance that he would support whatever decision Modi and BJP leader Amit Shah take on the chief minister’s post.
This is a developing story. It will be updated as new details are available.
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