Guwahati: Shiva Sena leader Eknath Shinde will be the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
This was announced by BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis in a joint press conference with Shinde on Thursday.
He also stated that he would not be a member of the cabinet and that the swearing-in event would take place today at 7.30 pm.
“We will have a cabinet expansion and Shiv Sena and BJP leaders will take the oath after today’s swearing-in event. I won’t participate in politics, he told ANI.
The BJP currently holds 106 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, while Shinde is in charge of 39 Shiv Sena rebel lawmakers as well as some Independents. Since the Assembly now only has 287 members due to the recent death of a Shiv Sena MLA, 144 votes are needed to win a majority.
Uddhav Thackeray resigned from his position as chief minister of Maharashtra after the Supreme Court backed Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari’s plea for a floor test earlier in the day.