The Congress will get Assembly Speaker's post while the NCP will get the deputy Speaker's post, Patel told reporters after a meeting of the `Maha Vikas Aghadi' of the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress in Mumbai.




Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray (photo: India Today Archives)

The people of Maharashtra can finally expect to get a CM that will last more that 80 hours. After a continuing stalemate for weeks after the results of the Maharashtra Assembly Elections were declared, and the resignation of Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister, Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray is going to be sworn in as the Chief Minister on Thursday, bringing to an end the huddle in the state.



The new government, also known as Maha Vikas Aghadi, will be an alliance of Shiv Sena and its ideological foes Congress and Nationalist Congress Party. Uddhav Thackeray's swearing-in ceremony will take place on Thursday at 6:40 pm in Shivaji Park.

Here are the big developments to follow:

Maha Vikas Aghadi power formula
The alliance held a meeting at YB Chavan Centre in south Mumbai and took a decision regarding the sharing of cabinet portfolios. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Uddhav Thackeray, who is also the Sena president, and Congress veteran Ahmed Patel were among the leaders who held parleys over council of ministers and the swearing-in ceremony, to be held at the Shivaji Park in Dadar on Thursday evening.

The Shiv Sena will get the post of the chief minister and 15 cabinet berths, the NCP will get the post of the deputy chief minister and 13 cabinet ranks while the Congress will get Speaker and 13 ministerial berths.
Along with Uddhav Thackeray, Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Ashok Chavan will take oath as ministers. Other leaders who will take oath on Thursday are NCP's Jayant Patil and Chagan Bhujbal and Shiv Sena's Subhash Desai and Eknath Shinde.

Once bitten, twice shy
Ajit Pawar will not take oath as the deputy chief minister. He was offered the post on Friday, instead he joined hands with the BJP and took charge as the deputy chief minister with Devendra Fadnavis as the chief minister on Saturday. However, he later resigned from the post citing personal reasons and was given a grand welcome by Aghadi members.

Uddhav Thackeray invites PM Modi for ceremony
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had a telephone conversation with Maharashtra Chief Minister-designate Uddhav Thackeray and congratulated him. Uddhav Thackeray also invited him for the swearing-in ceremony.
This was the first converation between Uddhav Thackeray and PM Modi after the two parties split following the Maharashtra Assembly election results.
Even as he resigned on Tuesday after NCP's Ajit Pawar changed his mind and withdrew the support of his party, two-time chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis, will also attend the ceremony.

Who all are coming for the swearing-in ceremony?

Although Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray met Congress president Sonia Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh and invited them for Uddhav Thackeray's swearing-in as Maharashtra Chief Minister, Sonia is unlikely to attend the event.
Aaditya Thackeray had a brief meeting with Gandhi at her 10, Janpath residence. The Congress tweeted a photo of the two leaders from its official Twitter handle. However, Sonia Gandhi might not attend the ceremony.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and DMK leader MK Stalin have also been invited for Uddhav Thackeray's swearing-in. Kejriwal has said that he will not be attending the event due to prior engagements.

Ajit Pawar - the future CM
A poster projecting prodigal NCP leader Ajit Pawar as future chief minister of Maharashtra cropped up in his home constituency Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday.
The poster bears photos of Ajit Pawar and his uncle Sharad Pawar, whose party is the key constituent of newly-formed 'Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi' (MVA) which also comprises the Shiv Sena and the Congress.
The poster came up on the eve of swearing-in of Sena president and the Aghadi nominee Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai.
In a nutshell:
Maharashtra witnessed many twists and turns since the results of the assembly elections were declared on October 24. With no party having the requisite numbers, President's Rule was imposed on November 12. In the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly, the BJP had 105 MLAs, followed by the Shiv Sena (56 MLAs), the NCP (54 MLAs) and the Congress (44 MLAs). In a dramatic development on Saturday morning, BJP's Fadnavis took oath as chief minister and NCP's Ajit Pawar of was sworn-in as his deputy on Saturday morning. Following which protests ensued, MLAs of the alliance were kept in resorts, a grand public parade of the NCP, Congress and the Shiv Sena also took place. However, after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test on Wednesday, the newly-formed Fadnavis-led government tumbled, paving way for the alliance.