"Maha" Political Drama Ends: Eknath Shinde Agrees to Take Oath as Deputy CM

The suspense ends as caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has agreed to take the oath as Deputy Chief Minister. Party leader Uday Samant confirmed on Thursday, putting an end to days of speculation over Shinde's decision.

"Shinde will take the oath as Deputy Chief Minister. We have communicated this to Devendra Fadnavis,” Uday Samant told reporters. Shinde had been reluctant to confirm his position in the cabinet. According to reports, he sought the home portfolio for himself as deputy chief minister and the assembly speaker's position for a Shiv Sena legislator.

In the past two days, Fadnavis held multiple rounds of talks with Shinde. However, when they visited Raj Bhavan on Wednesday, Shinde remained indecisive, telling the media he had yet to finalize his decision about joining the government.

Earlier today, Samant revealed that Shiv Sena MLAs had urged Shinde to take up the cabinet post. They made it clear that they would not accept ministerial roles if Shinde stayed out of the government. Following this, senior BJP leader Girish Mahajan visited Shinde at his residence. Shortly afterward, Samant announced that Shinde had agreed to take the position of deputy chief minister. Despite this, the distribution of portfolios has yet to be resolved.

The swearing-in ceremony is set for 5:30 pm today at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, where Fadnavis will take the oath as chief minister, and Shinde along with Ajit Pawar will be sworn in as deputy chief ministers. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah are likely to be in attendance.​