BJP to form govt in Maharashtra; Fadanvis to swear in tomorrow?

MUMBAI: As Uddhav Thackeray stepped down from the post of the chief minister, the BJP is all set to form a government in Maharashtra. The BJP’s decisive announcement will be made on Thursday. A meeting of BJP leaders, chaired by national general secretary C T Ravi, will also be convened on Thursday. Devendra Fadnavis is likely to swear in as the state’s chief minister on Friday. Rebel leader Eknath Shinde may become the deputy chief minister. Devendra Fadnavis will hand over the letter of support, provided by BJP rebel MLAs to form a government, to the governor on Thursday.

Meantime, the rebel MLAs arrived in Goa and met with Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, last day. BJP Maharashtra chief Chandrakant Patil has directed the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs to reach Mumbai on the day of the swearing-in ceremony.

The Uddhav government had tried all ways to remain in power, but the rebels were not ready to compromise, forcing Thackeray to resign ahead of the vote of confidence. Although, Uddhav Thackeray had submitted his resignation to the governor, he was asked to head the caretaker government. He met with the governor along with his daughter. Numerous Shiv Sena activists had accompanied Thackeray to the Raj Bhavan. In the wake of the prevailing conditions, security has been beefed up in Mumbai.