Devendra Fadnavis elected BJP legislature party leader, set to be new Maharashtra CM

Devendra Fadnavis was elected the leader of the BJP's legislature party at a matting held in Mumbai on Wednesday. (Photo: X/Devendra Fadnavis)

Ending an 11-day suspense over government formation in the state, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday elected party leader Devendra Fadnavis as the leader of its legislature party in Maharashtra, virtually paving the way for his appointment as the Chief Minister of the state for a third term.

Fadnavis’s name was proposed by senior party leaders Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungatiwar at a meeting of the newly elected MLAs. The meeting was held in Mumbai in the presence of the BJP’s central observers Vijay Rupani and Nirmala Sitharaman.

“In the absence of any other proposal, I hereby declare Devendra Fadnavis as the leader of the BJP legislature party,” Rupani said at the meeting.

"I congratulate Devendra Fadnavis for being elected as the BJP legislature party meeting. The BJP's victory in Maharashtra will act as a huge boost to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Viksit Bharat initiative. BJP's double-engine government will ensure the development of every region and corner of the state," said FM Nirmala Sitharaman.

Fadnavis' selection as the leader of the BJP legislature party comes over 10 days after the declaration of the Maharashtra election results on November 23, giving the BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP combine a resounding mandate of 230 out of 288 seats in the state.

While the Shiv Sena elected Eknath Shinde as its legislature party leader, the Nationalist Congress Party elected Ajit Pawar to the post. Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar are likely to meet Governor CP Radhakrishnan later in the day and stake claim to form the government in the state.

After days of multiple discussion, the NDA appeared to have finally reached a power-sharing formula with Fadnavis being appointed as the CM and Shinde and Pawar serving as Deputy CMs.

The BJP is likely to get 22 ministries, the Shiv Sena will get 12 while the NCP may get 10 ministries as part of the government.

The oath ceremony is set to take place at Mumbai's Azad Maidan at 5.30 PM on Thursday, December 5, in the presence of senior party leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.