Will invite PM Narendra Modi, Amit Shah for Uddhav Thackeray's swearing-in ceremony: Sanjay Raut

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New Delhi: Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was on Tuesday elected as the chief of 'Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi', paving the way for him becoming the new chief Minister of Maharashtra. The developement comes hours after Devendra Fadnavis announced his resignation as Maharashtra CM, admitting that BJP lacks adequate number to form the government in the state.

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut, when asked if Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be invited for the swearing-in ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray as Maharashtra CM, quipped, "Yes, we will invite everyone. We will even invite Amit Shah ji for the ceremony." 

Thackeray will be sworn-in as Chief Minister on December 1 in the evening at 5 pm, at a mega-function planned in Shivaji Park, it was announced by a spokesperson.

In his acceptance speech after he was unanimously elected as the 'Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi' nominee for Chief Minister, Thackeray said he was overwhelmed by the honour and would strive to live upto the expectations of all the supporting parties and the people of the state.

"This is an alliance of parties with divergent ideologies. This will give a new direction to the whole country. However, it should not be reduced to 'yours' or 'mine', but it should 'our' government. More important, the common man of the state should feel is `my government` always," he said to thunderous applause.

Spicing the speech with his brand of humour, Thackeray also extended an olive branch to former ally, the BJP, and said, "I will soon go to meet 'Mota Bhai' in New Delhi" (referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi).

However, he rued how the BJP dumped its 30-year-old ally and virtually called him a "liar", and them ejected him from the alliance and the NDA.

"We were not hungering for the post of CM... but, you had given a promise and you should have kept it. You had no faith in me, but the Opposition parties reposed their trust in me," Thackeray asserted.

He said the MVA parties did not "bend" before anybody, did not indulge in falsehoods and lying is not his brand of "Hindutva", and now after the struggle of the past few weeks, he would concentrate on the awesome task of administration before him.

Thackeray promised to lead an all-inclusive government which would work for the cause of the farmers, the poor, the downtrodden and marginalised sections of society and sought the cooperation of all the MVA parties in his endeavour.