Eknath Shinde will be chief minister of Maharashtra, announces Devendra Fadnavis

Eknath Shinde will be the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis announced at a press conference. The rebel Shiv Sena MLA will be sworn in at 7:30 pm tonight. This comes a day after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the chief minister, marking the end of Maha Vikas Aghadi government rule in the state.

"I wouldn't be part of the government," Fadnavis announced at the press conference after meeting Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari at the Raj Bhavan.

"The Shinde led government will resolve many issues which have been stalled for last two and a half years effectively. Reservation to Marathas, OBCs and the completion of the infrastructure projects will be the priorities of the new government," Fadnavis said.

"Shiv Sena went with the people whom Balasaheb Thackeray opposed all his life. The Thackeray government was corruption-ridden and it led to two ministers going to jail under corruption charges," he said.

Earlier in the day, Shinde arrived in Mumbai from Goa and headed to Devendra Fadnavis' residence. The duo held a brief meeting before leaving for the governor house.

The BJP has said that it has the support of a total of 170 MLAs, including those from Shinde's rebel faction. The Mumbai police had made heavy security arrangements in view of Shinde's arrival in the city. Roads were emptied so that Shinde's cavalcade faces no hindrance while going to 'Sagar', the official bungalow of Fadnavis located at Malabar Hill in south Mumbai.

The hectic political developments come a day after Uddhav Thackeray resigned as the Maharashtra chief minister on Wednesday night after the Supreme Court had cleared the decks for a flood test today. Thackeray's resignation meant the end of the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP Maha Vikas Aghadi coalition which ruled the state for 31 months.