Devendra Fadnavis Takes Oath as Maharashtra CM for Third Time, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar Sworn in as Deputies

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time on Thursday evening at Azad Maidan in Mumbai. Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath in Marathi. NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde took the oath as Deputy Chief Ministers. The announcement of the new cabinet ministers will be made later.

The swearing-in ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, several other Chief Ministers, Union Ministers, and numerous political leaders. Celebrities such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Ranbir Kapoor, Ranveer Singh, and Sachin Tendulkar were also present. Pranav Adani, Managing Director of Adani Enterprises, and industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla also attended the event.

Devendra Fadnavis first became Chief Minister in 2014, serving until 2019. In 2019, with the help of Ajit Pawar, he briefly became CM again but resigned after two days. In the previous government under Eknath Shinde, Fadnavis had served as Deputy CM. This will be Ajit Pawar's sixth term as Deputy CM; he has previously held this position in both the Mahavikas Aghadi and Mahayuti governments.

Amruta Fadnavis, Devendra's wife, expressed more a sense of responsibility than happiness before the ceremony, stating, "Devendra Ji has been elected as a legislator for the sixth time. Now, he is becoming CM for the third time. More than happiness, there is a sense of responsibility because he wants to do a lot of work for the people of Maharashtra."