Pune: Eknath Shinde, who hails from Satara district, became the fourth Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who has roots in the western Maharashtra district, mentioned this in a tweet congratulating Shinde.
Shinde cut his teeth as a Shiv Sena leader in Thane near Mumbai, he hails from Dare Tamb village, 60 km from Satara city. Before him, the state had three chief ministers of the district: Yashwantrao Chavan (the first CM of the state), Babasaheb Bhosale and Prithviraj Chavan.
While Pawar, another former chief minister, is primarily associated with Baramati in Pune district, the NCP leader told reporters that his family’s roots are in Satara’s Koregaon tehsil.
Pawar tweeted earlier in the day, “After Late Yashwantrao Chavan, Shri Babasaheb Bhosale and Shri Prithviraj Chavan, another Satara-Kar takes over as Chief Minister.” Vijay Mandake, a senior journalist from the district said that leaders of Satara have always been influential in the politics of the state.
Ganesh Utekar, a Shiv Sena leader from the district and a resident of Shinde’s native village Dere, said it was a pleasant shock for all of them when BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis announced Shinde as the next chief minister.
“Everyone in the village is celebrating development,” he said. Utekar said Shinde, who completed his primary education at a local school, regularly visits the village and does not attend the annual village fair.
Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde took oath as the new Chief Minister of Maharashtra on Thursday, while BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath of office to him after 7.30 pm at the Raj Bhavan in South Mumbai.
Shinde began by paying tributes to late Shiv Sena leaders Bal Thackeray and Anand Dighe. His supporters shouted slogans after the swearing-in of Thackeray and Dighe, hailing them.