Mumbai: Even as political drama continues to flummox Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis on Monday reached Mantralaya, the state secretariat, and took charge of the chief minister’s office.
The first thing that the 49-year-old did was signing a cheque for the CM Relief Fund. Fadnavis handed the cheque to Kusum Vengurlekar. “CM Devendra Fadnavis’ first signature of this tenure was done on a CM Relief Fund cheque, on reaching Mantralaya, which was handed over to Kusum Vengurlekar by the Chief Minister”, tweeted CMO Maharashtra.
Senior NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar also assumed charge amid the ongoing protest by the Opposition over this ‘illegitimate government’.
At the Vidhan Bhawan, CM Fadnavis and his deputy Pawar paid tribute to former Maharashtra Chief Minister Yashwantrao Balwantrao Chavan on his death anniversary, before taking the charge of the office.
CM Devendra Fadnavis’ first signature of this tenure was done on a #CMReliefFund cheque, on reaching Mantralaya, which was handed over to Kusum Vengurlekar by CM.
Fadnavis assumed office, hours after the Supreme Court gave a breather to the Fadnavis-Ajit government by reserving its order on a petition challenging the surprise government formation by the BJP for tomorrow.
In a dramatic turn of events, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, with the help of a faction of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs led by Ajit Pawar stake claim to form government in Maharashtra and in an early morning ceremony, took oath as the chief minister.