Shiv Sena’s Shinde takes oath as Maharashtra CM

Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde took the oath as the next Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday, a day after Uddhav Thackeray announced his resignation from the top post, bringing to an end the 31 month old Maha Vikas Aghadi MVA government.

BJP's Deputy Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, also took the oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of the State. The announcement came after BJP president JP Nadda said that Fadnavis would be part of the new Maharashtra Cabinet, minutes after he announced he will not be in the government.

Fadnavis said that the BJP will extend support to Shinde's group, while he said he would be out of government but will ensure its smooth functioning.

Shinde 58 MLA from Kopri-Panchpakhadi in neighbouring Thane city, a Shiv Sena bastion, started out as a grassroots Sena worker and rose to become the most senior Sena minister in the Uddhav Thackeray government, where he was responsible for the urban development portfolio.

The BJP has 106 MLAs in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly and Shinde is leading 39 rebel Shiv Sena legislators and some Independents. After the death of a Shiv Sena MLA recently, the current strength of the Assembly is reduced to 287, so the majority mark is 144. After the Maharashtra Legislative Council polls, Shinde met Fadnavis at the latter's residence today, leading a rebellion against Uddhav Thackeray.