CM Fadnavis, his deputies take oath as MLAs; Oppn MVA boycotts ceremony to protest EVM ‘misuse’

Mumbai: Two days after being sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as an MLA along with deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, while the opposition MVA boycotted the ceremony alleging EVM misuse. 

The opposition members refused to take oath as members of the of the newly constituted legislative assembly on the first day of the three-day special session of the House, as they raised question marks over the ruling Mahayuti alliance’s massive mandate and the trustworthiness of the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar were administered the oath of office as MLAs by pro-tem assembly speaker Kalidas Kolambkar soon after the proceedings began at 11 am.  Before them, Chainsukh Sancheti, Jaykumar Rawal (both BJP), Manikrao Kokate (NCP) and Ashish Jaiswal (Shiv Sena) took oath as they have been appointed as members of the pro-tem speaker’s panel by Governor C P Radhakrishnan. They were the first to take oath as members of the House on Saturday.

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CM Fadnavis, who represents the Nagpur South-West assembly constituency, took oath as a member of the state legislature’s Lower House for the sixth time, having been first elected as an MLA in 1999. As Fadnavis’ name was called out by the pro-tem speaker, he was greeted by members of the treasury benches by thumping their desks. Some members raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Jai Bhavani, Jai Shivaji’.

Deputy CM Eknath Shinde was also greeted with similar slogans with BJP’s Ashish Shelar, Girish Mahajan and Ravindra Chavan, thumping their desks before he took oath. Deputy CM Ajit Pawar sported a traditional red ‘pheta’ (head gear) with golden border. His party members raised ‘Ekach (only one) Dada, Ajit Dada’. Pawar, who represents the Baramati assembly seat, was first elected as an MLA in 1991.

Talking to reporters on the premises of the Vidhan Bhavan about the opposition’s boycott, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray said, “The MVA has decided not to take oath as members of the house on day one.”  “When a government comes to power with such a thumping majority, there are celebrations. But a question arises whether the mandate it received was given by the people or (got with the help of) the EVMs and the Election Commission of India,” he said. 

The opposition is also protesting against the curfew and arrests made in Markadwadi village in Malshiras assembly constituency of Solapur, where villagers have been demanding a mock poll using ballot papers, Thackeray said. “We are not taking oath considering the doubts that people have in their mind,” he added. In the November 20 assembly polls, the Mahayuti alliance of BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP retained power in Maharashtra, pocketing a whopping 230 of the 288 assembly seats.

The BJP won 132 seats, the Shiv Sena 57 and the NCP got 41 seats. The MVA managed to win only 46 seats with Shiv Sena (UBT) getting 20, Congress 16 and NCP (SP) 10.  Before the proceedings of the House began, Aaditya Thackeray was seen shaking hands with CM Fadnavis as the two met on the Vidhan Sabha premises. Meanwhile, former assembly speakers Dilip Walse-Patil, Rahul Narwekar, former deputy speaker Narhari Zhirwal, senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, BJP leaders Vijaykumar Gavit, Girish Mahajan also took oath as MLAs.

Mahajan took oath in Sanskrit. The former minister said he has taken oath six times as an MLA in the past and continued to do so for the seventh time. NCP leader Hasan Mushrif took oath with an invocation to Allah. Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Asim Azmi was also administered the oath of office. NCP MLAs sported phetas of pink colour. 

The pink jacket being worn by Ajit Pawar, especially during the election campaign, has become a talking point in political circles and common people. It is being seen as Pawar’s attempt to reach out to women voters.  The Shiv Sena MLAs wore saffron phetas.  Before entering the house, Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar paid floral tributes to Chhatrapati Shivaji in the premises of the state legislative assembly.