Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde, who will take oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra at 7.30 pm today, thanked BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for offering him the CM post. Shinde landed in Mumbai today after a stay in Guwahati and met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari along with Fadnavis to stake claim to form the government.
Addressing a presser, Shinde said, “Even Devendra Fadnavis could have taken the post of chief minister. But he chose Balasaheb Shiv Sainik for CM’s post. I’m highly obliged to him and PM Modi.”
Expressing his gratitude, Shinde said, “Fadnavis has a very big heart. I thank all of them who supported us. We will take the state towards the path of development.”
“Eknath Shinde to be the Maharashtra Chief Minister, oath ceremony to be held at 7.30pm today,” BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced in a joint press conference with Shinde. The BJP leader said that after the swearing-in ceremony today, they will have a cabinet expansion and Shiv Sena and BJP leaders will take the oath.
Maha ‘Naya’ Aghadi: Shinde’s dhamaka swearing-in!
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DECISION FOR HINDUTVA
Eknath Shinde said, “The decision which we took today is for the Hindutva and ideology of Balasaheb along with the agenda of development in the constituencies of our MLAs.”
“I had kept aside his issues as an Urban Development and Public Works minister, but what about the issues of our MLAs? We repeatedly tried to put the issues forward but nothing worked. So we had to take this decision,” Shinde added.
He also termed the alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena as ‘natural’ and said that in the MVA government, the MLAs were not happy.
“No one has joined us with selfish motives. We have always seen opposition forming a new govt. But this time it is vice a versa and we went from govt to opposition,” he said.
He also took a dig at the former Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray and said that if 50 MLAs take a stand then the party leadership needs to analyse what went wrong.
Meanwhile, the opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis also took potshots at the MVA government and said that the mandate of people was insulted by forming MVA govt, adding that people didn’t vote for MVA but for Shiv Sena and the BJP alliance.