Mumbai, October 31
Devendra Gangadharao Fadnavis was today sworn in as the 27th Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the first from the BJP at a grand ceremony at Wankhede Stadium this afternoon.

Fadnavis was administered the oath of office and secrecy by Governor C Vidyasagar Rao around 4.20 pm in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sources said Modi had chosen the time for the swearing-in after consulting astrologers.

Besides Fadnavis, seven Cabinet ministers and two ministers of state also took oath. The nine-member team included two women.

The Cabinet ministers sworn in are Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Prakash Mehta, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde, daughter of Gopinath Munde, Vishnu Sawra and Chandrakant Patil. The Cabinet also includes two ministers of state — Dilip Kamble and Vidya Thakur.

BJP’s former ally Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray agreed to attend the swearing in ceremony after BJP president Amit Shah telephoned him this afternoon.

“Uddhav Thackeray has agreed to attend the swearing in ceremony after speaking to BJP president Amit Shah," party MP Vinayak Raut told reporters outside Matoshree, the residence of the Shiv Sena chief. The BJP leadership would address Sena’s concerns, he said.

Uddhav reached the venue a few minutes after Fadnavis was sworn in. He was escorted to the stage and was seated next to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Shiv Sena dismissed media reports that it was angling for the Deputy Chief Minister's post in the Devendra Fadnavis government. “These reports are speculative. We have not demanded the Deputy CM's post," Shiv Sena MP Raut said.

Fadnavis took the oath in Marathi in the presence of his mother, wife Amruta, and five-year-old daughter. Those in the audience included who's who from Maharashtra politics, business and Bollywood. Apart from Prime Minister Modi and BJP patriarch LK Advani, Union Ministers Nitin Gadkari, M Venkaiah Naidu, Ravishanker Prasad and Prakash Javadekar, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, BJP chief ministers Anandiben Patel (Gujarat), Manohar Parrikar (Goa) and Vasundhara Raje (Rajasthan) attended the ceremony. BJP allies Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu were also present.

Representatives of the corporate sector came in full strength with Kumar Mangalam Birla, Adi Godrej, Anil Ambani and Niranjan Hiranandani attending 
the event. Also in attendance were several Bollywood personalities.

7 Cabinet Ministers
Eknath Khadse
Sudhir Mungantiwar
Prakash Mehta
Vinod Tawde
Pankaja Munde
Vishnu Sawra
Chandrakant Patil

Ministers of State
Dilip Kamble
Vidya Thakur