Preparations on at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan for swearing-in of next Maharashtra CM

Preparations are underway for the oath-taking ceremony of the Maha Yuti government, scheduled for December 5, 2024, at Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: ANI

With the stage set for the swearing-in of Maharashtra’s new Mahayuti government on December 5, preparations at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai are in full swing.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Ministers Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal, Nitin Gadkari, and Chief Ministers of National Democratic Alliance (NDA) States, including Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart N. Chandrababu Naidu, are expected to attend the event, though the alliance is yet to announce its choice for the Chief Minister’s post officially.

BJP leader and two-time Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is widely tipped to lead the government, but the final decision will be made at a meeting of the State BJP legislature party on December 4.

The saffron party leadership appointed Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani as Central observers for the legislature party meeting of BJP MLAs-elect who will appoint the legislature leader and the chief whip. They are expected to reach Mumbai on Tuesday evening.

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who has been supervising the arrangements, visited the venue on Tuesday along with a group of leaders, including NCP’s Dhananjay Munde, Hasan Mushrif, and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat.

Live telecast

BJP leader Prasad Lad said Mr. Modi, nine to 10 Union ministers, and 19 Chief Ministers and Deputy Chief Ministers would attend the ceremony. “It will be telecast live across the State wherever LED screens are available. Special arrangements have been made to accommodate over 40,000 BJP supporters and a separate seating arrangement made for 2,000 VVIPs, including leaders from various religions,” he said.

A meeting to finalise the ceremony’s logistics was held at the BJP’s State headquarters on Tuesday. Key leaders, including the party’s Mumbai chief Ashish Shelar and legislative council leader Pravin Darekar, participated in the discussions. The event will also feature religious leaders, artists, and writers from across Maharashtra, highlighting the State’s cultural diversity.

“A final decision on who is going to be the Chief Minister will be made on December 4 and official communication will be sent to the Governor’s office for the preparation. After the official ceremony, the top leaders are likely to address the gathering. We are expecting the presence of more than 45,000 supporters from across the State at Azad Maidan,” a BJP leader told The Hindu.

The BJP, riding high on its best-ever performance in the November 20 Assembly elections with 132 seats, secured a commanding majority alongside allies Shiv Sena and NCP, collectively winning 230 of the 288 seats.

Meanwhile, Mr. Shinde has reportedly expressed disappointment at not being given a second term. While sources suggest he retreated to his native village in Satara to reflect on the developments, Mr. Shinde has maintained that the visit was purely for rest following the intense election campaign.

“I met Eknath Shinde ji, he is not upset with anything, he is a little under the weather. We are eagerly looking forward to December 5. It is going to be a great day with a very good programme lined up,” said BJP leader and MLA Girish Mahajan.

A special session of the Maharashtra Legislature will be held from December 7 to 9 in Mumbai for the swearing-in of newly elected members. The winter session is likely to follow in Nagpur from December 16 to 23.