December 5, 2024: In a historic political comeback, BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday. The grand oath-taking ceremony, held at Azad Maidan in Mumbai, was attended by a star-studded array of political, entertainment, and business leaders.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was present at the event, along with key Union Ministers including Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, and JP Nadda, as well as several top BJP leaders. The ceremony also saw the swearing-in of Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, signaling the strength of the new Mahayuti coalition government.

The event, which attracted an estimated 40,000 attendees, was a spectacle of political power and glamour. Bollywood icons Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Ranbir Kapoor added to the star power of the occasion. Top industrialists, including Mukesh Ambani, Anil Ambani, Anant Ambani, and Kumar Mangalam Birla, were also in attendance, underscoring the high-profile nature of the event.

Among the notable political figures present were Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath, Himachal Pradesh CM Bhajanlal Sharma, Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami, Andhra Pradesh leader Chandrababu Naidu, and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar. The ceremony also saw former cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, accompanied by his wife Anjali, join the celebration.

Fadnavis’ return to power comes after a period of intense political maneuvering and speculation. His previous tenure as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2019 was marked by key reforms and infrastructure development, but he was replaced in 2019 by Uddhav Thackeray following a coalition agreement between Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress. Fadnavis’ reappointment solidifies BJP’s dominance in the state and strengthens the alliance with key regional leaders like Shinde and Pawar.