'Hope there are no more shocks in future': Devendra Fadnavis after taking oath as Maharashtra CM

The ruling Mahayuti alliance will provide a stable government for the next five years, he asserted to the people through his media conference.

"From 2019 to mid-2022, we saw a lot of changes. We hope that there are no more similar shocks in the future," he told reporters in an indirect jibe at the Opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) strongman Devendra Fadnavis Thursday took oath as the new Maharashtra Chief Minister after a stellar performance of his party in the recently concluded Assembly elections in the politically crucial state.

Along with Fadnavis, two of his deputies—Shiv Sena boss Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar—were also sworn in during the grand ceremony that was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ending nearly two weeks of stalemate.

"In 2014 I was the Chief Minister and Shinde was with us. In 2019, for 72 hours, Ajit Dada and I were Chief Minister and deputy Chief Minister. After that, Shinde was the Chief Minister and Ajit Dada and I were Deputy Chief Ministers. Now I am the Chief Minister and they both are Deputy Chief Ministers," he said speaking about their changed roles.

"Our roles have changed but the direction is the same, the pace is the same... You will not see anything different when you talk about the relation between the three of us," he added.

"This is a government of very fast decisions. Today on the occasion of the oath ceremony, I say the pace at which Maharashtra is going we will not stop," he said, "We have to make sure that all the decisions are well-thought, made at the same pace".

Fadnavis is now a three-time Maharashtra chief minister besides being a six-time MLA.

PM Modi, who was present at the occasion, congratulated Fadnavis and his two deputies.

Five years ago, Fadnavis was removed as Chief Minister despite the BJP and the then-undivided Shiv Sena winning the 2019 election.

However, the two then split and Uddhav Thackeray allied the Sena with the Congress and the (also then undivided) NCP to form a government by the Maha  Vikas Aghadi.

On Thursday evening, at Mumbai's iconic Azad Maidan, Fadnavis kept his promise to bounce back to power through twin political masterstrokes by the BJP - one of destabilising and dividing the Sena and NCP, and picking up the pieces. Those pieces in the form of Shinde and Ajit Pawar laid the foundation for the Mahayuti's big win.

The Mahayuti alliance secured a dominant victory in the November 20 elections, winning 230 out of 288 Assembly seats.

The BJP emerged as the largest party with a record 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

Fadnavis' role as the CM was cleared after Eknath Shinde, who led the Mahayuti Alliance government after splitting with Uddhav Thackeray, said he won't be a problem and left the decision to the top leadership of the BJP.

However, reports earlier revealed that Shinde wasn’t willing to accept the Deputy’s role in the new setting.

There were rumours that he might even skip the oath-taking ceremony, according to an NDTV report.

The speculations gained momentum after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat said the party members are set to convince Shinde to take the oath.