Maharashtra elections proved 'Ek Hain to Safe Hain': CM-elect Fadnavis
What's the story
Devendra Fadnavis has been elected the leader of the Maharashtra Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Legislative Party and will be sworn in as the state's chief minister on Thursday. The swearing-in ceremony will be held at Mumbai's Azad Maidan, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi likely to attend. After he was elected unanimously, Fadnavis called the recent Assembly elections "historic," reiterating PM Modi's campaign slogans "Ek Hain to Safe Hain" and "Modi Hai to Mumkin hai."
Election results
Mahayuti alliance's landslide victory and cabinet negotiations
The Mahayuti alliance, which includes the BJP, Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), won a landslide victory on November 23. They won 230 seats in the 288-member assembly. Thanking his party members for unanimously electing him, Fadnavis thanked central observers Nirmala Sitharaman and Vijay Rupani. He also thanked caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, and National Democratic Alliance leader Ramdas Athawle for their support.
Party strength
Fadnavis credits party unity and leadership for victory
In his speech, Fadnavis emphasized that not a single MLA deserted the BJP since 2019, which he thinks helped form a government in 2022 and secure a historic mandate in the recent polls. "I started as a ward level leader and now I have also become CM for third term. Though, I got a short term in technical way. PM Modi and Amit Shah both have given a huge support and boosted it during Maharashtra elections," the BJP leader stated.
Government formation
Fadnavis to stake claim for government formation
After being elected the leader of Maharashtra, Fadnavis also paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the Vidhan Bhavan complex. Fadnavis will meet Shinde and Ajit Pawar at Raj Bhavan to stake a claim to form the government. A letter of support from 236 MLAs will be submitted to formalize the process.