Mumbai:
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today expanded his Council of Ministers to include the Shiv Sena, which returns as the BJP's ally in the state after a brief parting. 20 new ministers were sworn in today.
Mr Fadnavis had taken oath along with ten ministers in a grand ceremony at Mumbai's famous Wankhade stadium on October 31. Today's ceremony was held at the Vidhan Bhawan.
Of the 20 ministers sworn in today, 10 are of cabinet rank, five each from the BJP and the Shiv Sena. Mr Fadnavis already has eight Cabinet rank ministers in his council. There will be no deputy chief minister, a Shiv Sena demand that prolonged negotiations between the two parties through their acrimonious separation.
The 44-year-old chief minister had announced yesterday that the BJP and the Shiv Sena were back together and would contest future elections together.
"It is the desire of the people of Maharashtra that BJP and Shiv Sena should be part of the government. I urged the Shiv Sena to join the government... we have decided to run the government together," Mr Fadnavis had said, flanked by beaming leaders of the Shiv Sena and his party.
With the Sena now joining the government, Mr Fadnavis can hope for an easier time during the winter session of the Assembly, beginning in Nagpur on December 8. The government will have a clear majority of 184 in a House of 288. The BJP has 121 MLAs, 43 short of a majority. The Shiv Sena 63.
Sharad Pawar's NCP, which has 41 MLAs, had announced outside support to the state government. The NCP said yesterday that it would now play the role of a constructive opposition.
The Shiv Sena and the BJP had split in the state on September 25, days before the state voted. Negotiations on power sharing began soon after elections, but the BJP refused to give in on several of the Sena's key demands making it clear that the balance of power has changed.
When Mr Fadnavis won a trust vote controversially last month, the Shiv Sena opposed the government and sat in the Opposition.