Maharashtra’s newly-elected CM Eknath Shinde on July 10 said that he will use his chief minister’s post to bring justice to the people of the state and try to bring ‘achche din’ in the lives of common citizens.
Addressing a public meeting in Pune, “I will use my chief minister’s post to deliver justice to the people of the state and try to bring ‘achche din’ in the lives of common citizens. We will take Balasaheb’s Hindutva forward and Dharamvir Anand Dighe’s teachings.”
Shinde took oath on June 30 as the new government’s chief minister and Fadnavis as the deputy chief minister of the new government after Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray resigned following a rebellion in his party.
Earlier on July 9, Shinde and Fadnavis met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi. This was Shinde’s first meeting with PM Modi after taking oath as the chief minister of the state.
Read also: The Rise of Eknath Shinde: From Auto Driver to Maharashtra Chief Minister
During a joint press conference in the national capital, Shinde also said“Maharashtra has a strong government. We have 164 MLAs while the opposition has 99. My government will complete its term. We will also win the next election.”
He had further said that the existence of Shiv Sena MLAs was in danger during the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) regime and hence they revolted against the alliance.
Shinde said, “The existence of our MLAs was in danger under the MVA government. Then we couldn’t speak so we took the step. It is only the natural alliance of BJP and Shiv Sena that can take Maharashtra forward.”
Shinde had led the rebellion and some independent MLAs also joined it. Shinde had earlier said that a decision would be taken soon after discussing the cabinet expansion.
Sources said that more than a dozen people of Shinde camp could be made ministers. Eight ministers of the Uddhav government had joined the rebellion along with Shinde. There are speculations that all of them can be made ministers again.
Earlier on 7th July Sixty Six Former Shiv Sena The Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC) councilors on Thursday extended support to the Eknath Shinde camp.
A press release from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s office said 66 former Shiv Sena councilors, led by former mayor Naresh Mhaske, met the chief minister at his ‘Nandanvan’ bungalow in Mumbai on Wednesday night and extended their support.
Shinde and Fadnavis also met Defense Minister Rajnath Singh at his residence in Delhi on Saturday. He also met President Ram Nath Kovind.
Meanwhile, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena faction has moved the Supreme Court opposing the Maharashtra governor’s June 30 decision to invite BJP-backed Shinde-led MLAs to form the government in the state.
The matter will be heard in the Supreme Court on July 11. Referring to the Thackeray faction, Thackeray has said that no one can take the bow and arrow of the party.
In the meeting, he also discussed the possibility of giving ministerial posts to all the MLAs who were ministers in the Thackeray government.
Shinde won floor test In the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on July 4, the last day of the two-day special session of the House, 164 MLAs voted in favor of the confidence motion, while 99 voted against it in the 288-member House.
(with inputs from ANI)