Shinde is CM, Fadnavis his Dy

TWIST IN THE TALE. AFTER TAKING OATH AS MAHA CM, SHINDE VOWS 'EFFECTIVE, STRONG GOVT'

MUMBAI: Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde was on Thursday sworn in as the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, while BJP stalwart Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the deputy CM, capping a day of surprises and bringing a dramatic end to the ten-day-old political crisis in the state.

Widely seen as the next Chief Minister after the collapse of the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government on Wednesday, Fadnavis sprang a huge surprise when he announced that Shinde will occupy the top post and that he will not be part of his dispensation.

Minutes later, BJP president JP Nadda said in New Delhi that Fadnavis, a former CM, will be part of the Cabinet led by Shinde, whose rebellion against the Shiv Sena leadership brought down the two-and-a-half-year-old MVA government.

"Devendra Fadnavis has shown big heart and decided to join the new Maharashtra Cabinet, Nadda tweeted. Union Home minister Amit Shah also said in a tweet that Fadnavis, who hails from Nagpur, has decided to join Maharashtra government on the request of Nadda and in the interest of the state.

As the dust settled, the focus shifted to the Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai where Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to Shinde (58) and his deputy Fadnavis (51) shortly after 7.30 pm.

Shinde, a four-time MLA, began oath-taking by paying tributes to late Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe, his political mentor in Thane district.

His supporters shouted slogans hailing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Sena founder Thackeray and Dighe as he finished taking the oath. After taking the oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shinde vowed to give effective, strong government'.

"Development of the state is my priority. I will take all sections of society along with me," Shinde said after the ceremony.