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Amidst thunderous applause from thousands of supporters, Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the BJP’s first Maharashtra Chief Minister on Friday afternoon at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Seven other MLAs were also sworn in as Cabinet Ministers and two as Ministers of State.
The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with a number of his Cabinet colleagues. Also present on the occasion was Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray.
Thackeray’s presence assumes significance as it signals a thawing of the frosty relationship between the Shiv Sena and the BJP. It had worsened just before the Assembly elections, when they broke up a 25-year-old electoral alliance.
A BJP source said Thackeray attending the ceremony could pave the road for a stable government in the State. On Thursday, Shiv Sena MP Vinayak Raut had said his party leaders have been humiliated by BJP leaders’ behaviour, and would therefore not attend the swearing-in.
But today morning Fadnavis and BJP president Amit Shah reportedly called up Thackeray and ensured his attendance.
The new ministers sworn in today included Pankaja Munde, daughter of later Union Minister Gopinath Munde; technocrat Vinod Tawde; and senior northern Maharashtra leader Eknath Khadse.
Among the attendees were top industrialists including Anil Ambani, and Bollywood stars Shah Rukh Khan, Aamir Khan and Amitabh Bachchan.
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