Eknath Shinde, 58, took oath at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai.
Springing a surprise, Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde on Thursday became the 20th Chief Minister of Maharashtra as his faction joined hands with “natural ally” BJP to unseat the 31-month-old Uddhav Thackeray government. Here are the top 10 updates on this big story:A two-day special session of the Maharashtra legislature will be held from July 2. Mr Shinde, meanwhile, has returned to Goa where the rebel MLAs are camping.BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, who was largely expected to take the top job, took oath as Deputy Chief Minister barely three hours after he said he “will stay out of the government and ensure it runs smoothly”.Devendra Fadnavis showed a “big heart” and the decision reflects his true dedication and attitude of service towards Maharashtra, said Home Minister Amit Shah, announcing Mr Shinde will get full support of BJP.Eknath Shinde thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Fadnavis and other BJP leaders. “It’s their magnanimity. They had a bigger mandate, yet they made me the Chief Minister. Who does that?” he said.Mr Fadnavis could not have accepted the Number Two position “happily”, veteran politician Sharad Pawar, who heads Nationalist Congress Party, which was part of the Uddhav Thackeray government, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.Mr Shinde, 58, took oath at the Raj Bhavan in Mumbai, less than 24 hours after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as Chief Minister of the 31-month-old Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.Uddhav Thackeray’s resignation on Wednesday came days after Mr Shinde led a rebellion with at least 39 Shiv Sena MLAs, alleging that Mr Thakeray ignored Shiv Sena MLAs demand that the alliance with Congress and NCP should be ended.”Shiv Sena chose to get into an alliance with those against whom Balasaheb protested throughout his life. Shiv Sena insulted the mandate of the people,” said Mr Fadnavis.The Shinde camp insists that it is the Shiv Sena now, since Uddhav Thackeray is in a minority in the party. “It’s not a question of who is the real Shiv Sena. We have the legal majority and thus ours is the legislature party,” he said.Mr Shinde, who was a senior minister in the Thackeray government, has said he took the decision (to rebel against the MVA government) with support of 50 MLAs for the development of the state and “there was no personal interest involved.” When 50 MLAs take a decision, it calls for introspection, he said, without naming Uddhav Thackeray.
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