Thu Dec 05 23:38:09 UTC 2024: ## Fadnavis Returns as Maharashtra Chief Minister in Surprise Alliance

**Mumbai, Dec 5** – Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Thursday evening in a stunning political comeback, forming a government with Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Ministers. The ceremony, held at Azad Maidan, was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several Union Ministers, and Chief Ministers from other states, as well as Bollywood celebrities and prominent business figures. The opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) was notably absent.

Fadnavis, who previously served as Chief Minister twice, led the BJP to victory in the recent state assembly elections. This new government is a result of an unexpected alliance between the BJP, Shinde’s faction of Shiv Sena, and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), giving the coalition a commanding majority of 230 seats in the 288-member assembly. No other ministers were sworn in at this time; a cabinet expansion is planned for next week.

The new Chief Minister immediately chaired a cabinet meeting and addressed the media, emphasizing transparency and good governance. He also rejected the notion of “vendetta politics” against the opposition and called for an “overhaul of political culture” in the state.

Shinde, in a separate press conference, reiterated his commitment to serving the common man. The cabinet’s first decision was to approve financial assistance for a patient in need of a bone marrow transplant.

While this marks Fadnavis’s third term as CM and Pawar’s sixth as Deputy CM, the alliance has raised eyebrows given the recent political landscape. The previous attempt at a BJP-NCP government in 2019 collapsed within 72 hours. The current government’s stability and long-term prospects remain to be seen. The winter session of the state legislature is scheduled for December 7-9.

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