Devendra Fadnavis takes oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister.
The 10-member
Devendra Fadnavis ministry, sworn-in at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai today in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a blend of the young and the experienced.
The seniormost among them is Eknath Khadse (62), Leader of Opposition in the outgoing 12th State Assembly of Maharashtra. A prominent leader from Jalgaon district in North Maharashtra, he was Finance Minister during the Shiv Sena-BJP regime in 1995-99.
Sudhir Mungantiwar (52) is a former president of Maharashtra BJP and a close associate of union minister Nitin Gadkari. He was a minister for some time during the Shiv Sena-BJP regime in 1995-99. He hails from Chandrapur district in Vidarbha.
Vinod Tawde (51), who was effective as leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council, hails from Sindhdurg district in coastal Konkan region and is an electronics engineering graduate.
Till two days ago, Chandrakant Patil, a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) from Pune graduates seat, was tipped to succeed Mr Fadnavis as the next state BJP chief. Hailing from Kolhapur district in western Maharashtra, he has deep roots in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and often acts as a bridge between the Sangh Parivar and the state party organisation.
Pankaja Munde (35) won her second term as Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Parli in Marathwada region. She was made a member of the state BJP core committee after the death of her father, Gopinath Munde, in a road accident in Delhi in June.
Vishnu Savara, who won from Vikramgadh constituency in Palghar district, was a minister during the Sena-BJP government in the 90s.
Prakash Mehta who represented the Ghatkopar East constituency in Mumbai, is a former Mumbai BJP president. He was a minister during the Sena-BJP government in the 90s.
Among the ministers of state who took oath today was Dilip Kamble, who won the October 15 elections from Pune Cantonment defeating sitting MLA Ramesh Bagve, a former minister, by over 14,000 votes.
Vidya Thakur is former deputy mayor of Mumbai. She defeated Shiv Sena leader Subhash Desai from Goregaon Assembly constituency in the elections.