The wait was over after 132 party legislators and five Independents supporting BJP on Wednesday unanimously elected Devendra Fadnavis as the legislature party leader. With this, he is set to take oath for the third time as the Maharashtra Chief Minister at a grand ceremony on Thursday.

The BJP core committee chose Fadnavis as its legislative leader, with prominent party members Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar formally nominating him.

Speaking at the meeting, Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule hailed the party’s historic victory in the state elections, emphasizing that the Mahayuti alliance, under Fadnavis’ leadership, secured a historic mandate. “We contested 149 seats and won 132, the highest in history. Our allies won 57 and 41 seats, and with seven additional MLAs supporting us, we will have 237 members in this Assembly,” Bawankule said, reaffirming the party’s commitment to taking Maharashtra to the top with the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

BJP leader Ashish Shelar was appointed as the party’s chief whip in the assembly.

The meeting was attended by BJP’s central observers for the state, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani.

The ceremony for Fadnavis’ oath-taking is set to take place on December 5.

(With inputs from agencies)