Mahrashtra CM Fadnavis, his deputies take oath as MLAs; opposition boycotts ceremony citing EVM 'misuse'
PTC News Desk: Two days after being sworn i as Maharashtra chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis along with his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar took oath as members of legislative assembly. Meanwhile opposition alliance Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) boycotted the oath ceremony of the newly elected Maharashtra Assembly to lodge protest over alleged EVM 'misuse'.
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.
Opposition MLAs boycotted the oath ceremony and refused to take oath as members of legislative assembly on the first day of the three-day special session of the House.
"We boycotted the oath-taking ceremony today as democracy is being murdered by the use of EVMs... This (the results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections) is not the mandate of the public it is the mandate of EVM and the Election Commission of India," Aditya Thackeray said.
In the November 20 Assembly elections, the Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena, and the NCP led by Ajit Pawar, successfully retained control in Maharashtra by securing a significant 230 out of the 288 Assembly seats. The BJP won 132 seats, the Shiv Sena 57, and the NCP 41 seats.
In contrast, the MVA (Maha Vikas Aghadi) managed to secure only 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning 20, Congress 16, and NCP (SP) 10.
- With inputs from agencies
