Maharashtra’s new CM: Its Shinde, not Fadnavis

Mumbai, Jun 30: Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde to be chief minister of Maharashtra. He is set to take oath at 7.30 pm today. The dramatic announcement came after Fadnavis and Shinde met Governor B S Koshyari at Raj Bhavan.

It was considered a foregone conclusion that Fadnavis will become the CM for the third time, in alliance with the Shinde-led Sena rebels.

"Eknath Shinde to be the Maharashtra Chief Minister, oath ceremony to be held at 7.30 pm today," BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced in a joint press conference with Shinde.

Shinde, alobg with other party MLAs, pushed Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government into a major political crisis. Shinde was the Cabinet Minister of Urban Development and Public Works (Public Undertakings) in Government Of Maharashtra.

Elected for four back-to-back terms 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019 -- in the Maharashtra Assembly, he enjoys popular support and is responsible for the collapse of Uddhav government in Maharashtra.

Shinde hails from the Jawali taluka in Satara, Maharashtra, and belongs to the Maratha community. His family moved to Thane, in the outskirts of Mumbai, in order to earn a living. Eknath studied till 11th standard at Mangala High School & Junior College, Thane.

Shinde used to drive auto-rickshaw to support his family. He was influenced by Bal Thackeray, and Shiv Sena's Thane district chief Anand Dighe. He associated with Shiv Sena in the 1980s.

He started his political journey after elected Thane Municipal Corporation as a corporate for the first time and four years later, he became the leader of the house. He got elected from the corporation in 2002 again.

In 2004, he won from the Kopri-Pachpakhadi constituency of Thane in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election. Since then, he was four consecutive times from the constituency.