Mumbai (Maharashtra): Maharashtra's new Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis along with Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, at the Vidhan Bhavan complex in Mumbai on Saturday.
Visuals show the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers garlanding the structure at the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan on day 1 of the Maharashtra Assembly special session.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis arrived at the Vidhan Bhavan on the first day of the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly.
Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar could also be seen arriving with his party workers at the Vidhan Bhavan.
Maharashtra Deputy CM and NCP chief Ajit Pawar spoke to the media and said, "Today I paid tribute to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj along with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Deputy CM Eknath Shinde and other leaders of Mahayuti. We want to work following the ideology of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and BR Ambedkar. The voters of Maharashtra have given us a lot of support and I express my gratitude to them."
BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar also spoke on the first day of the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, and said, "Our mandate is for 5 years, how can we take all the decisions within a day? They (opposition) don't even know that? There will be a budget session, then there will be provision and then decisions are taken."
Meanwhile, the election for the new Maharashtra Assembly Speaker will likely be held on Monday, December 9.
The three-day special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is underway.
This special session will serve as a platform to set the tone for the legislative agenda of the newly formed Assembly in Maharashtra.
Senior BJP MLA Kalidas Sulochana Kolambkar was sworn in as the pro-tem Speaker of the Assembly by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Friday, a day ahead of the three-day special session of the Assembly.
Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said, "Today's priority is the oath-taking ceremony of 288 MLAs and holding the election of the speaker of the Maharashtra Assembly. After that, our 3 leaders CM Fadnavis and two Dy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar will together decide on when to do the cabinet expansion and which departments we will be getting. Our leader is Eknath Shinde, we have given him the authority to take all the political decisions to him, and all our MLAs will agree with whatever decision he takes."
Ahead of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly's special session, newly elected MLAs addressed the media, vowing to focus on the development of their constituencies and reaffirming their commitment to advancing developmental initiatives.
Speaking to the media here today, Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said, "15 days ago, the 288 MLAs who were elected in the assembly elections, their oath-taking ceremony is being held today in the Vidhan Bhavan. This is a 3-day session and I think the election of the Speaker of the Assembly is also going to take place in it. All three leaders will sit and decide when the cabinet will be expanded."
"Who is to be made a minister or not is actually the call of the Chief Minister. CM will sit with both DCMs and make a decision on that. Who has said that we want Home Ministry? CM and DCMs will decide on the portfolios," added Samant.
Earlier in the day, newly elected Shiv Sena MLA Amol Dhondiba Khatal also arrived at the Vidhan Bhavan and paid his respects by bowing in front of the building on the first day of the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly on Saturday.
Speaking to ANI, Amol Khatal said, "I thank the people of Sangamner Assembly constituency for electing me. Vidhan Bhavan is like a temple for me and I want to learn something from everyone. I will work to resolve the issues of water, and unemployment among others."
The Maharashtra Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral legislature of Maharashtra state in western India. It consists of 288 members directly elected from single-seat constituencies.
Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister at the Azad Maidan in Mumbai on Thursday.
Two deputy chief ministers, NCP leader Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde were sworn in at the ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats.
The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively.
While, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback with Congress winning just 16 seats. Its alliance partner, Shiv Sena (UBT), won 20 seats, while the NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) secured only 10 seats. (ANI)