In Pics: Devendra Fadnavis sworn-in as Maharashtra CM

New Delhi: Devendra Fadnavis was today sworn in as Chief Minister of the first BJP government in Maharashtra at a grand ceremony where Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray made a last-minute appearance, raising the possibility of a rapprochement between the saffron parties. 44-year-old Fadnavis, a fourth time MLA and the second Brahmin to occupy the top post in the state, was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao at the Wankhede Stadium in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP President Amit Shah, several Union ministers and veterans L K Advani and MM Joshi among others. Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states including Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan), Anandiben Patel (Gujarat), Manohar Parrikar (Goa), Raman Singh (Chhattisgarh) and Manohar Lal Khattar (Haryana) and those governed by allies including Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh) and Parkash Singh Badal (Punjab) also attended the event.Top industrialists along with other eminent personalities, including from Bollywood, and Fadnavis' banker wife Amruta were present at the packed venue when seven Cabinet Ministers and two Ministers of State also took oath. Former ally Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray, whose party had decided to boycott the event citing “constant humiliation” by BJP ahead of government formation, attended the event along with his wife after a last-minute call by BJP President Amit Shah.Thackeray's presence indicated a possible rapprochement between the two estranged Hindutva parties which fell apart just ahead of the Assembly polls following failure of seat sharing talks.All eyes were on Modi and Uddhav, who shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.With 121 BJP MLAs in a House of 288, Fadnavis is heading a minority government that has been asked to prove majority in two weeks. Sharad Pawar's NCP with 41 MLAs has already declared unconditional outside support to the new government.Cabinet Ministers who were sworn in are Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde—all members of the BJP's state Core Committee--, Prakash Mehta, Chandrakant Patil and Vishnu Savara. The Ministers of State are Dilip Kamble and Vidya Thakur.Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, M Venkaiah Naidu, Ravishanker Prasad, Prakash Javadekar and Radhamohan Singh were present on the occasion.Fadnavis is only the second Brahmin Chief Minister after Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi in the state dominated by Maratha politicians.Groomed in RSS tradition and handpicked by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Fadnavis has become the 27th Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the 18th person to hold the post. He is the fourth politician from Vidarbha region to become CM. He helmed the BJP in the state when it posted emphatic victories in Lok Sabha and state Assembly polls. Uddhav Thackeray, who sat beside Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu, remained silent and broody through the proceedings, but was seen smiling, shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries with Modi after the ceremony got over.“Uddhavji attended the swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis after BJP president Amit Shah called him up to extend invitation,” Sena MP Vinayak Raut said. “Amit Shah also assured Uddhavji of a positive decision on participation of Shiv Sena in the new government and we are hopeful there will be a positive outcome when talks are held,” he said.It was, however, not yet clear when talks between the two parties will resume to arrive at a mutually acceptable power-sharing arrangement.Governor Rao has given Fadnavis 15 days from the day of being sworn in to prove his majority in the Assembly. BJP's strength in the House has come down to 121 after the death of its MLA Govind Rathod, but it has claimed support of all seven independents and some from smaller parties. NCP has said it will abstain from voting during the floor test if Sena were to sit in the opposition. This will help the Fadnavis government to sail through. However, taking 63-member Sena on board is still the best option available to Fadnavis to reach the magic figure of 145.The 10-member Devendra Fadnavis ministry sworn in here today in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a blend of youth and experience. The seniormost among them is Eknath Khadse (born in 1952), Leader of Opposition in the outgoing 12th State Assembly. A prominent leader from Jalgaon district in North Maharashtra, he was Finance Minister during the Shiv Sena-BJP regime in 1995-99.Sudhir Mungantiwar (born 1962) is a former president of Maharashtra BJP and a close associate of Union minister Nitin Gadkari. He was a minister for some time during the Shiv Sena-BJP regime in 1995-99. He hails from Chandrapur district in Vidarbha.Vinod Tawde (born 1963), who was effective as leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, hails from Sindhdurg district in coastal Konkan region and is an electronics engineering graduate.Till two days ago, Chandrakant Patil, an MLC from Pune graduates seat, was tipped to succeed Fadnavis as the next state BJP chief. Hailing from Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, he has deep roots in RSS and often acts as a bridge between the Sangh Parivar and the state party organisation.Pankaja Munde (born 1979) won her second term as MLA from Parli in Marathwada region. She was made a member of the state BJP core committee after the death of her father Gopinath Munde in a road accident in Delhi in June. Vishnu Savara won from Vikramgadh constituency in Palghar district. He was a minister during the Sena-BJP government in the 90s.Prakash Mehta represents Ghatkopar East constituency in Mumbai. He is a former Mumbai BJP president. He was a minister during the Sena-BJP government in the 90s. Among the ministers of state who took oath today was also Dilip Kamble, who won the October 15 poll from Pune Cantonment defeating sitting MLA Ramesh Bagve, a former minister, by over 14,000 votes.Vidya Thakur is former deputy mayor of Mumbai. She defeated Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai from Goregaon Assembly constituency in the recently held assembly polls.It was perhaps the most touching moment of the grand swearing in-ceremony of the BJP government at the Wankhede Stadium today.As the 44 years old Devendra Fadnavis mixed with crowds after the ceremony, shaking hands with well-wishers from across the barricades, his attention was drawn to a five years old girl, eagerly awaiting her turn to greet him.The Chief Minister in him then took a backseat and a doting daddy rushed to hold the stretched hands of the girl, his daughter Divija.“All the best, Baba,” she said.Divija was accompanied by Devendra's mother Sarita and his wife Amruta.A KG student at Bhavan's Bhagwandas Purohit Vidya Mandir in Nagpur, she will be the youngest-ever occupant of CM's official bungalow ‘Varsha' in south Mumbai.NCP chief Sharad Pawar's daughter Supriya Sule was the youngest occupant of CM's official bungalow; the current Baramati MP was then only nine years old when her father became the youngest Chief Minister of Maharashtra at 38.Newly appointed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will seek a vote of confidence in his government during a special session of the state Assembly beginning November 11, official sources said today. A formal announcement in this regard is likely to be made tomorrow after a meeting of the state Cabinet. A top official speaking on condition of anonymity said it would be a three-day session. Governor C Vidyasagar Rao has given Fadnavis 15 days from the day of his government being sworn in to prove its majority in the 288-member House.After the death of an MLA, BJP's strength in the Assembly has come down to 121, but it has claimed support of all seven independents and some from smaller parties. NCP with 41 MLAs has declared outside support to the BJP government and said it will abstain from voting on the trust motion if 63-member Shiv Sena were to sit in the opposition, helping it sail through.Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray attended the swearing-in ceremony of the Fadnavis government earlier in the day, reviving hopes of a rapprochement between the two saffron parties. He also had a brief discussion with BJP president Amit Shah after the oath ceremony where he shook hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and exchanged pleasantries. If Sena comes on board, the BJP government will have no problem proving its majority in the House.