Shiv Sena president Eknath Shinde will take the oath as Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister on Thursday evening, ending speculation about his role in the new government, his party colleague Uday Samant confirmed.
BJP legislature leader Devendra Fadnavis will be sworn in as chief minister, while Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar will take the oath as his deputies at the ceremony, which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Samant’s announcement followed a meeting with Fadnavis, who provided a letter confirming Shinde’s appointment. Samant then submitted the letter to Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan.
Shinde, who was previously chief minister in the last Mahayuti coalition government, had been reportedly reluctant to accept the deputy CM position after ceding the top post to the BJP.
The new government comes after two weeks of intense negotiations following the November 20 state assembly elections and the results on November 23. With allies Shiv Sena and NCP, the BJP-led Mahayuti coalition holds a strong majority of 230 seats in the 288-member assembly.