Inspired by mom, Fadnavis firmly in the saddle

On his first day in office Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said he felt inspired by his mother who blessed him before the swearing-in ceremony a day before.

"Got blessed by my Mother yesterday before taking oath as CM of Maharashtra...Feeling inspired on first day of working," Fadnavis tweeted Saturday before launching a hectic day full of meetings, presentations and status reviews of various departments of the government.

Sarita Fadnavis had given her blessings to son Devendra before the start of the mega-function for the swearing-in at Wankhede Stadium Friday.

Fadnavis began the day by presiding over a meeting of the state cabinet at the government guest house Sahyadri on Malabar Hill.

Later, he attended presentations by the key ministries of finance, home, energy and agriculture which went on for around five hours at the venue.

The secretaries of the concerned departments explained the status of the various projects in these ministries to Fadnavis.

Speaking to media-persons, Fadnavis said that he plans to develop the chief minister's office (CMO) on the lines of the PMO to ensure speed and efficiency in the governance.

"I am in the process of developing this office (CMO) work on the lines of PMO...A select set of bureaucrats would assist the ministers in case they are unable to carry out certain tasks," said the first chief minister of the Bharatiya Janata Party, a day after he was sworn-in.

He expressed confidence that the strengthening of the CMO would help ease bottlenecks and reduce work backlog when bureaucrats are deployed to help out ministers.

In the evening, Fadnavis also had a meeting with several of the Bharatiya Janata Party legislators, said his colleague Sudhir Mungantiwar.

This was followed by a trip to Shivaji Park where Fadnavis paid homage at the memorial of Shiv Sena patriarch Bal Thackeray.

Mungantiwar said that high-level talks are underway between the BJP and the Shiv Sena for including the latter (Shiv Sena) in the government.