‘Grand event’: 40,000 people expected to attend MahaYuti’s swearing-in function

Mumbai (The Uttam Hindu): BJP, which has emerged as the big brother by winning 132 seats in the MahaYuti, has planned the swearing-in ceremony of the Maharashtra Cabinet slated for December 5 to be a grand event. BJP has taken a lead in its organisation even before the MahaYuti has yet to formally stake a claim for the government. The swearing-in function will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amity Shah, about nine to ten union ministers including Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, and Shivraj Chauhan among others along with 19 chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states and NDA partners. The BJP national president JP Nadda will also attend the ceremony. The party expects 40,000 to 50,000 people to attend the ceremony being held at the Azad Maidan near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in South Mumbai. BJP legislator Prasad Lad, who is the close confidant of Devendra Fadnavis, said that nearly 10,000 beloved sisters (Ladki Bahin) and 2,000 farmers will attend the function. “The members of cooperative societies have helped BJP and MahaYuti to score a big win and so about 5,000 chairpersons and secretaries of such societies will also attend the ceremony,” he said. He added a special arrangement is being made for about 2,000 VVIPs and VIPs. “The swearing-in ceremony will be telecast live and it can be seen on LED screens at bus stops, theatres and key locations across Maharashtra,” he said. He further added that the invitations are being sent to veteran politicians including Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray and leading industrialists such as Mukesh Ambani. Nearly 100 saints, influencers, professionals including doctors and chartered accountants and Bollywood stars and Marathi film actors are also being invited for the swearing-in function. A senior BJP leader said that nearly 10,000 BJP workers will wear T-shirts with a written message of 'Ek Hai To Safe Hai' while Marathi and Hindi singers will also perform at the venue.

The police have beefed up security near the venue and also across Mumbai so that the swearing-in function with such a huge mobilisation of people takes place smoothly. MahaYuti leaders including state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule and party legislator Praveen Darekar, Shiv Sena legislator Sanjay Shirsat and NCP ministers Hasan Mushrif and Dhananjay Munde on Tuesday visited Azad Maidan and took stock of preparations for the swearing-in ceremony. Meanwhile, the BJP is expected to elect its legislature party group leader on Wednesday at the legislators’ meeting. BJP along with Shiv Sena and NCP will then stake claim for the government formation with the state Governor CP Radhakrishnan. Thereafter, the Governor will formally invite the MahaYuti to form the government after verifying the signatures of the legislators. Sources said that caretaker chief minister Eknath Shinde along with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar are expected to meet on Tuesday night or on Wednesday to finalise the number of cabinet berths among three parties and distribution of ministries. Shinde has yet to open his cards about joining the government as the Deputy Chief Minister as he is also pressing for the Home Department. (Sanjay Jog can be contacted at [email protected])