MAHA preparations for new Maharashtra CM

A 150-foot-long stage will be set up on the ground between two pavillions. A platform will also be setup for the media to telecast to the swearing-in live

It seems that the Maharashtra unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party is leaving no stone unturned to make grand the October 31 oath-taking ceremony of its first chief minister, Devendra Fadnavis, at the Wankhede stadium in South Mumbai. Over a dozen BJP ministers are expected to take oath in presence of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 31 at the sprawling venue.

Around 2,000 policemen will be deployed in and around the venue for the ceremony. The stadium, that has a capacity of around 35,000, is expected to seat 5,000 VVIPs around the centre of the ground, where four stages will be erected. According to organisers, 25,000 people will be seated in the stands, while another 5,000 will be seated on the ground.

Also read: MCA offers Wankhede free of cost for swearing-in

Fadnavis, whom Modi had described as “Nagpur’s gift to the country” at an election rally, has a clean public image and helmed BJP in Maharashtra when it posted impressive performances in Lok Sabha and assembly polls. 

Maharashtra Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya said that the Wankhede Stadium has been chosen because of its seating capacity of 25,000 to 30,000 and the "good seating arrangement" there for VVIPs. Bollywood art director Nitin Desai has been hired to create the décor. Parking arrangements have been made near Vidhan Bhavan, Grant Medical College, MK Road and MG Road.

Apart from the formal ceremony, there will be a musical programme by Ashok Hande's group.

Construction of the stage already began on Tuesday. Though usually such events are held at Raj Bhavan, the Shiv Sena-BJP government led by Manohar Joshi was sworn-in at a function at Shivaji Park in 1995. 

It is expected that around a dozen ministers will take oath, including the state BJP Core Committee members Eknath Khadse, Vinod Tawde, Pankaja Munde and Sudhir Mungantiwar. Corporate leaders Ratan Tata, Mukesh and Anil Ambani, Anand Mahindra, Adi Godrej, singing legends Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, actors Amitabh Bachchan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan are among those invited for the event, apart from chief ministers of the BJP-ruled states, leaders of opposition in the non-BJP ruled states and all the newly elected MLAs in Maharashtra.