BJP leaders congratulate Devendra Fadnavis for becoming Maharashtra CM

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Saturday congratulated Devendra Fadnavis for taking oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the second consecutive term after month-long uncertainty over government formation in the state.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said Fadnavis' return as Chief Minister honours the mandate of the people.

"Congratulations Devendra Fadnavis on becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra again. His becoming the CM honours the mandate because 'khichdi' (referring to Congress, NCP, Shiv Sena negotiations) was anti-mandate. The people of Maharashtra are victorious. Congratulations to them," Javadekar tweeted.

Union Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted, "Congratulations to Devendra Fadnavis ji and Ajit Pawar ji for taking oath as the CM and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively. Under your leadership and good governance, the state will achieve new heights of development & provide a better future to the people of Maharashtra."

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat also congratulated Fadnavis.

"Hearty congratulations to Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar for becoming Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. I am confident that this government will work with commitment and dedication for public welfare and will establish new dimensions of progress and prosperity," Yogi Adityanath tweeted.

"Hearty congratulations to Devendra Fadnavis for becoming the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the second time. Also, congratulations to Ajit Pawar for taking oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state. The new government will continue the progress journey of Maharashtra at a faster pace," Trivendra Singh Rawat tweeted.

BJP, with 105 seats, came together with the Nationalist Congress Party, which bagged 54 seats, to reach the majority mark.

NCP's Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra.However, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said that it was Pawar's decision to join hands with BJP.

"Ajit Pawar's decision to support the BJP to form the Maharashtra Government is his personal decision and not that of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). We place on record that we do not support or endorse this decision of his," he tweeted.

The move came at a time when deliberations between Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena had seemingly reached the final stage on Friday. Earlier, NCP supremo Sharad Pawar had claimed that there was a consensus on Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as chief minister of the alliance government.