Maharashtra CM Race Live: Ambedkarite Leader Demands To Postpone Date For Oath Taking Ceremony

Maharashtra Government Formation Live: Follow this space for all the breaking news and latest updates on the formation of new government in Maharashtra following assembly polls. The stalemate over the name of the new chief minister in Maharashtra continues to linger though Bharatiya Janata Party’s Devendra Fadnavis is still said to be the frontrunner. 

While the CM pick is yet to be announced, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said the oath-taking ceremony will take place on December 5 at 5 pm at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai.

The swearing-in ceremony will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi also, Bawankule said. 

Caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde who headed to his native village Dare in Satara district a day before amid speculation that he was not happy with the way the new government was shaping up, has taken ill, as per his aide. He was running temperature of 105 degrees F, the aide said.

On Saturday, NCP chief Ajit Pawar said the CM will be from the BJP, while there will be deputy CMs from the two allies — his party and the Shiv Sena.

Sanjay Shirsat, Shiv Sena leader close to Shinde said the party must get the home portfolio claiming attempts were being made to sideline Shinde. 

Meanwhile, a BJP leader said a meeting of the party will be held on December 2 to elect the leader of the BJP legislature party and added that Fadnavis is likely to get the CM post this time. 

Shinde is at a fissure within his party as one faction thinks he should not become a deputy CM, having been the chief minister for more than two years while another group of party leaders insists that he must be part of the new government.

The Mahayuti alliance comprising Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist Congress Party, and Shiv Sena swept the Maharashtra assembly polls with BJP bagging 132 seats followed by Shiv Sena with 57 and NCP with 41 seats.