With Modi, Amit Shah, Uddhav on stage, Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maha CM

Mumbai: Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the 27th chief minister of Maharashtra, leading the first ever  BJP government in the state on Friday. A nine-member BJP ministry led by 44-year-old Fadnavis was sworn it at a grand ceremony at Wankhede stadium on Friday. Senior BJP leaders Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar and Vinod Tawde also took oaths after Fadnavis. Pankaja Munde, daughter of the late Gopinath Munde also took oath amid loud cheers from the crowd. Prakash Mehta, Vishnu Sawra, and Chandrakant Patil were inducted into the cabinet as well. [caption id=“attachment_1781893” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Devendra Fadnavis with the Maharashtra governor. PTI[/caption] Dilip Kamble and Vidya Thakur will be sworn in as ministers of state, the sources said. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah also arrived for the ceremony and remained present on the dais along with Venkaiah Naidu. A very happy Fadnavis, with his wife by his side, waved as the crowds cheered on. However, the surprise came in the form of Uddhav Thackeray’s presence on the dais. After much bitterness, Thackeray was cajoled by BJP President Amit Shah into attending the oath-taking ceremony. In a last minute decision, probably looking at rewards for his own party, Thackeray attended the ceremony, With PTI inputs