Mumbai, December 5 (NationPress) Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for the third time on Thursday, surrounded by a host of NDA leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi during a grand ceremony.

The oath was administered by Governor CP Radhakrishnan.

With this swearing-in, Fadnavis embarks on his 3.0 tenure. Former Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar took their oaths as Deputy Chief Ministers in the ministerial council led by Fadnavis.

Fadnavis is anticipated to expand his cabinet on December 11 or 12, ahead of the winter session of the state legislature commencing on December 16 in Nagpur.

The ceremony began with the national anthem and the Maharashtra Song at 5:30 PM and concluded by 5:45 PM.

Eknath Shinde, who had been hesitant until the morning, accepted the role of Deputy Chief Minister in response to requests from Fadnavis and several Shiv Sena leaders.

Notable union ministers including Rajnath Singh, Amit Shah, Nitin Gadkari, Shivraj Chouhan, JP Nadda (also the BJP president), Nirmala Sitharaman, Piyush Goyal, Bhupendra Yadav, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Chirag Paswan, HD Kumaraswamy, and Ramdas Athavale were among the dignitaries present.

Chief Ministers from BJP-ruled states and allies, including Yogi Adityanath, Nitish Kumar, N Chandrababu Naidu, Pramod Sawant, Mohan Yadav, Vishnu Deo Sai, and Himanta Biswa Sarma, were also in attendance.

Approximately 40,000 attendees filled the venue, including industry leaders like Mukesh Ambani with Anant Ambani, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Anil Ambani, Dilip Sanghavi, and Deepak Parekh.

Bollywood icons such as Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Ranvir Singh, Ranbir Kapoor, and Madhuri Dixit also graced the occasion.

Consul Generals from various nations were present as well.

Among the attendees were over 10,000 Ladki Bahins, 2,000 farmers, and 5,000 cooperative society leaders, along with members and supporters from the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP.

Additionally, more than 300 saints, influencers, and professionals, including doctors and chartered accountants from Bollywood and Marathi cinema, were present.

The security measures were heightened around Azad Maidan, near the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in South Mumbai, with over 5,000 police personnel deployed, alongside teams from the state reserve police, anti-riot forces, and rapid action teams.

Five additional police commissioners, 15 deputy commissioners, and 29 assistant commissioners were tasked with overseeing security arrangements to ensure an incident-free ceremony. Drones will also be utilized for surveillance.