Devendra Fadnavis to take oath as CM on Friday

Fadnavis is to leave for Raj Bhavan to stake claim on govt formation

Devendra Gangadharrao Fadnavis, 44, was on Tuesday unanimously elected as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) legislature party leader in the Maharashtra Assembly. This has paved the way for the BJP state unit president — a law graduate — to become the chief minister. The BJP is short of a majority by 23 seats in the 288-member Assembly.

Accompanied by party General Secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy, Union minister Prakash Javadekar, state Core Committee members Eknath Khadse and Vinod Tawde, besides allies RPI leader Ramdas Athawale and RSP's Mahadev Jankar, Fadnavis later called on Governor C Vidyasagar Rao to stake claim to form the government. “We gave the governor a letter seeking opportunity for BJP to form government. The governor has asked us to prove majority in 15 days after the swearing-in on October 31,” Fadnavis told reporters after meeting Rao.

Fadnavis will be sworn in as the chief minister on October 31

At the meeting of party's newly elected members of the Assembly, senior BJP leader Eknath Khadse proposed Fadnavis’s name and it was seconded by former state party chief Sudhir Mungantiwar. Tuesday’s meeting at the Vidhan Bhavan took place in the presence of party observers Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, party general secretaries J P Nadda and Rajiv Pratap Rudy, and Assembly election incharge O P Mathur.  

The BJP won 122 seats in the 288-member Assembly. However, Govind Rathod, who was elected from Mukhed in Nanded, passed away on Sunday, reducing the strength to 121. Fadnavis, who comes from a typical middle class Deshastha Brahim family, will be sworn in as the chief minister at the Wankhede stadium in south Mumbai in the presence of Prime Minister Narender Modi, his cabinet colleagues, members of various political parties, representatives of industry and business, consul generals and Bollywood actors.

Fadnavis, under whose leadership the BJP fought the Assembly elections and registered its most impressive performance in Maharashtra till date, emerged as the front runner for the CM’s post. However, senior party leaders Eknath Khadse and Pankaja Munde had also pitched themselves for the post. Nitin Gadkari’s loyalists too wanted their leader to become chief minister.

Party seniors admit Fadnavis’s election as leader was a mere formality as Modi and BJP President Amit Shah had already endorsed his name for the post of chief minister.

Fadnavis creates history, supporters rejoice