PM to attend swearing in ceremony in Mumbai on December 5

Prime Minister Modi to attend Mahayuti government swearing-in ceremony in Mumbai on December 5, 2024 at Azad Maidan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be in Mumbai on December 5 for the swearing in ceremony of the Mahayuti government. The ceremony will be held at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai at 5 p.m., Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Chandrashekhar Bawankule announced on Saturday (November 30, 3034).

“The wait of the people of Maharashtra for the government formation process has ended. I congratulate the people of Maharashtra. The Mahayuti has received a historic mandate, which was never seen in the history of Maharashtra. The oath-taking ceremony of the Mahayuti government in Maharashtra will be held in the presence of the pride of the world, Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi-ji on Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 5 p.m. at Azad Maidan, Mumbai,” Mr. Bawankule said, even as speculation over the name for the Chief Minister’s position continued.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar said the formula decided for the Mahayuti government, which will be sworn in on December 5, had been decided at a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. “There will be one Chief Minister, who will be from the BJP, and two Deputy Chief Ministers from the allies,” he told reporters in Pune.

When asked about the delay in the formation of the government, he said it was not the first time that there had been a delay. “In 1999, it took over a month for the government formation,” he said.

There has been no official announcement as yet on the chief ministerial face. Key discussions continued in the BJP on Saturday (November 30, 2024) as well. Sources said that Eknath Shinde had sought the Home Ministry for his faction of the Shiv Sena. “But the negotiations for Cabinet distribution have not yet taken place. That will happen only after the BJP decides its [chief ministerial] face. We are waiting for that. There is no doubt that we will want some key portfolios, including the Home Department,” a Sena leader told The Hindu.

There is speculation over several names for the top job. “The party thinks of a long-term strategy, for seeing how different segments of the society can be accommodated. There are elections coming up in the State. The party will want to think of how the selection of leaders will help the party consolidate its position, send a strong message and continue to elicit the support of various caste and community groups,” a leader told The Hindu.