'Vikas, Bal Thackeray's Hindutva': Highlights of Fadnavis-Shinde's Joint Address

Devendra Fadnavis has announced that Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra.

The long-drawn political turmoil in Maharashtra has led to an unexpected outcome, with BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announcing on Thursday, 30 June, that Shiv Sena rebel leader Eknath Shinde will be the next chief minister of Maharashtra with the BJP's support.

Fadnavis, who had been speculated to take over as the CM, also said he will not be a part of Shinde's Cabinet. He claimed the BJP has the support of over 170 MLAs to form the new government.

Here are the key highlights of Fadnavis's address:

• The BJP has decided that it will support Eknath Shinde as the chief minister of the state. Eknath Shinde will alone take oath at 7:30 pm today. After the ceremony, further decisions on the expansion of the Cabinet will be taken. The Cabinet will comprise of the Shiv Sena, the allies, the independents, and the BJP.

• I will not be a part of the Cabinet, but I will take responsibility for the smooth functioning of the alliance and the government. I will provide full support and cooperation to the government.

• It was expected that the BJP will form the government with the Shiv Sena in 2019. The PM said so in his address as well. However, the Sena changed their stance after the results. They decided to join hands with people who opposed Hindutva and Veer Savarkar.

• The state needs an alternate government for its stability. With the leadership of Eknath Shinde, BJP and 16 independents have joined hands and staked claim to the Maharashtra government by handing over a letter to the Governor.

• The MVA (Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi) tenure saw no development work and a lot of corruption.

• Bal Thackeray opposed Dawood, but a minister related to Dawood was not even stripped off his post after being jailed.

• Uddhav preferred the Congress-NCP leaders over his own people, but I won't comment on it as it is their internal matter.

The remarks were made at a joint press conference with CM designate Eknath Shinde, who also addressed the media and said that the new government in Maharashtra will get the backing of PM Modi, Amit Shah, and JP Nadda.

Here are the highlights of his address:

• Fadnavis could have become chief minister, going by the numbers, but he showed a big heart and I thank him.

• The decision that we have taken is committed to Balasaheb's Hindutva and for the development work in the constituencies of our MLAs. We have 50 MLAs with us.

• The development of the constituencies of my fellow MLAs and the state is my first priority.

• Several discussions had happened with the party chief (Uddhav Thackeray) over reuniting with our natural allies (BJP).

• There are no ambitions for any ministerial posts or any portfolios among the MLAs who are with us.

• This is the first time ruling leaders had to switch to the Opposition instead of the other way.

• The BJP has over 120 MLAs along with the allies.

• Even if Devendra does not join the Cabinet, I know that the BJP will support us fully.

Catch the live updates of the Maharashtra political crisis here.

This comes after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the chief minister of Maharashtra on Wednesday night, soon after the Supreme Court refused to stay a floor test against him in the Maharashtra Assembly.

After over 40 Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled against Thackeray, the son of the Shiv Sena patriarch was left with about 15 MLAs in his support.