An unexpected announcement by Fadnavis gave rise to intensepolitical unrest in Maharashtra

*Paromita Das

EknathShinde, a leader in the Shiv Sena, was sworn in as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra last evening, putting an end to the political unrest in the state. Along with Shinde, BJP leader and former state CM DevendraFadnavis took the oath of office as a cabinet minister and will now serve as the state’s deputy CM.
At Mumbai’s Raj Bhavan, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath.
The ministry didn’t have any additional ministers. After former CM Uddhav Thackeray resigned on 29 June, things moved quickly, and the new ruling coalition was unable to discuss a number of coalition-related issues, including the composition of the ministry.
In a previous statement, Fadnavis stated that the ministry would expand after the constituent partners chose their MLAs to join the ministry.

After the Supreme Court decided to allow a floor test against his government, Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra the day before. Congress and the NCP supported the coalition government that Thackeray led. Given that the BJP has the most MLAs in the house, everyone was speculating that DevendraFadnavis would be the Chief Minister and EknathShinde would be the Deputy Chief Minister. However, yesterday afternoon, the BJP announced a major surprise when Fadnavis declared that Shinde would be the CM.
The announcement by Fadnavis was unexpected given the intense political unrest, as Maharashtrians had been speculating that Fadnavis would succeed Uddhav Thackeray. DevendraFadnavis expressed support for EknathShinde and his rebel group and stated that whatever Shinde did could not be characterized as a “rebel” act. According to him, “Shiv Sena MLAs were calling for the termination of the alliance with Congress and the NCP, but Uddhav Thackeray disregarded these MLAs and gave priority to MVA alliance partners, which is why these MLAs amplified their voices.”

Fadnavis also claimed that the MVA alliance had insulted the people’s mandate in a dig at Shiv Sena for joining forces with Congress and SharadPawar’s NCP. EknathShinde and Fadnavis met with Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari earlier today to stake out a position for the formation of the government.

Fadnavis had previously stated that he would not join the government, but the BJP added a new twist by urging him to change his mind. According to JP Nadda, the party’s president, Fadnavis will take on the role of Deputy Chief Minister. DevendraFadnavis agreed to join the government after Nadda made a personal request regarding the matter. He allegedly took the oath with EknathShinde.
Meanwhile, Balasaheb’sHindutva and the development efforts in the MLAs’ home districts are committed to whatever decision has been made; EknathShinde reaffirmed. In the press conference, he said, “We have 50 MLAs with us. Deepak Kesarkar, the leader of the Shiv Sena rebels who also spoke at the press conference on June 30, reaffirmed that the rebel leaders were only protesting the alliance with Congress and the NCP and not Uddhav Thackeray.
“Uddhav Thackeray is and has always been the Shiv Sena’s leader. If any MLA wants to become chief minister, he should come ahead and meet with me and say so; after that, I will resign, he had stated. Notably, none of the MLAs whom the Shiv Sena spokesperson referred to as traitors have requested Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation. All we asked was that he break his alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress and team up with the BharatiyaJanata Party, he claimed.

The MVA-led administration and the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena party were overthrown by CM Shinde and the approximately 42 MLAs who backed him. Former CM Uddhav Thackeray had rejected his demand for the BJP and Shiv Sena to once again align.

The EknathShinde-led rebel group first traveled to Surat before making its way to a hotel in Guwahati, Assam. According to the rebel Shiv Sena leaders, the party’s leadership under Uddhav Thackeray had forgotten both the Hindutva agenda and the guiding principles of party founder Balasaheb Thackeray.