Devendra Fadnavis, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader, was on Thursday, December 5, 2024 evening sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister at south Mumbai's Azad Maidan.
Fadnavis has held this position twice before. Only Vasantdada Patil and Sharad Pawar have been chief minister four times.
Eknath Shinde, who was chief minister between June 30, 2022 and December 4, 2024, and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as deputy chief ministers.
IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra D Modi has a pat for Fadnavis who led the BJP to its best ever performance in a Maharashtra assembly election -- winning 132 seats.All Photographs: Sahil Salvi for Rediff.com
IMAGE: Fadnavis, who served as deputy chief minister during Shinde's tenure as CM, was chief minister between 2014 and 2019.
IMAGE: Would he? Would he not? There was suspense whether Shinde would take the oath on Thursday afternoon. In the event, he did, meekly accepting the deputy chief minister's post.
IMAGE: Ajit Pawar has coveted the chief minister's post for years. So much so that he broke away from his uncle Sharad Pawar in June 2023 and joined the Mahayuti in the hope that the powers that be in New Delhi would dump Shinde and give him the CM's job.
That didn't happen and Ajitdada will now have to reconcile with the reality that he will always be the bridesmaid never the bride.
That didn't happen and Ajitdada will now have to reconcile with the reality that he will always be the bridesmaid never the bride.
IMAGE: The roads to Azad Maidan for the last couple of days have been plastered by giant billboards of Shinde welcoming Modi to the city. No sign of Fadnavis or Pawar on the hoardings, of course.
IMAGE: Modi greets Governor C P Radhakrishnan, who Wikipedia informs us has been described as the 'Modi of Tamil Nadu'.
IMAGE: Shinde, seen here presenting a bouquet to Governor Radhakrishnan, wanted to be Maharashtra's home minister if he could not be CM, but was reportedly sternly told by Amit A Shah that that would not happen. So what portfolio will keep Shinde satisfied?
IMAGE: A galaxy of BJP and NDA leaders from the Centre and the states flew to Mumbai for the Fadnavis swearing in. The really important ones are upfront on stage along with Fadnavis, Pawar and Shinde. You know who they are, right?
IMAGE: Modi meets the men of the moment as he arrives for the swearing in.
IMAGE: Fadnavis signs the register after taking the oath of office.
The first file he signed was approving financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh for a patient awaiting a bone marrow transplant.
Pune-based Chandrakant Kurhade's wife had sought help from the chief minister's relief fund for her husband's treatment.
Fadnavis signed the file before heading to Mantralaya, the state government headquarters for the first cabinet meeting.
The first file he signed was approving financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh for a patient awaiting a bone marrow transplant.
Pune-based Chandrakant Kurhade's wife had sought help from the chief minister's relief fund for her husband's treatment.
Fadnavis signed the file before heading to Mantralaya, the state government headquarters for the first cabinet meeting.
IMAGE: Look who's watching Eknath Shinde sign the register. That's Nara Chandrababu Naidu, Andhra Pradesh's chief minister and president of the Telugu Desam Party, one of the BJP's two primary allies in the NDA.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff.com
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
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