Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray chairs first cabinet meet of 'Maha Vikas Aghadi'

Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took oath as chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday evening, heading the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA), an alliance of Nationalist Congress Party, Shiv Sena and Congress.

The ceremony was held in Mumbai's Shivaji Park where Uddhav's father, the late Bal Thackeray, founded the Shiv Sena in 1966. Governor BD Koshyari administered oath to Uddhav, the first Thackeray to be a chief minister of the state, at 6:40pm.

Read | Uddhav along with 6 ministers to take oath today: Ajit Pawar

NCP leader Ajit Pawar has said that six leaders, two each from his party, the Shiv Sena and the Congress, will take oath as ministers on Thursday along with Chief Minister-designate Uddhav Thackeray.

Here are the updates:

08: 36: Newly appointed CM Uddhav Thackeray along with son, Aaditya Thackeray arrive at Sahyadri guesthouse for the first cabinet meeting of the Maha Vikas Aghadi. Sena leader Eknath Shinde and Congress' Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut have also reached for the meeting.

08:22: State Ministers Chhagan Bhujbal & Subhash Desai arrive at Sahyadri guest house for the first cabinet meeting.

Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP who was sworn in today arrives for the first Cabinet meeting of Maha Vikas Aghadi at Sahyadri House in Mumbai. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

08: 06 pm: Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, along with his wife Rashmi and their son Aaditya Thackeray offer prayers at Siddhivinayak Temple.

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray, along with his wife Rashmi and their son Aaditya Thackeray offer prayers at Siddhivinayak Temple. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

07:05 pm: Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut take oath as Ministers.

06:59 pm: Nationalist Congress Party leader Chhagan Chandrakant Bhujbal takes oath as minister.

(Photo: ANI)

06:53 pm: NCP Maharashtra unit chief Jayant Patil and party's MLA from Islampur in Sangli district has taken the oath.

(Photo: ANI)

06:48 pm: Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai took oath as ministers of Maharashtra Cabinet.

06:44 pm: Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray takes oath as 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

After taking oath, Uddhav Thackeray expressed his gratitude to the gathering and to the Maratha warrior Shivaji Maharaj.

06:40 pm: Mukesh Ambani, along with wife Nita and son Anant arrive for the oath-taking ceremony of CM designate Uddhav Thackeray and other Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders. Former CM Devendra Fadnavis and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari have also arrived.

06:35 pm: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leaders Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Praful Patel at the oath-taking ceremony of CM designate Uddhav Thackeray and other Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.

(Photo: ANI)

06:26 pm: Dr Manmohan Singh in a letter to Uddhav Thackeray: “I am very happy to know that you are taking oath as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra. It is a historic event and I commend you on your visionary leadership.”

(Photo: ANI | Twitter)

06:25 pm: MNS Chief Raj Thackeray arrives at oath ceremony of CM designate Uddhav Thackeray and other Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.

06:20 pm: DMK Chief MK Stalin, DMK leader TR Baalu with Congress leader Ahmed Patel and NCP leader Praful Patel at oath ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray and other Maha Vikas Aghadi leaders.

(Photo: ANI | Twitter)

06:15 pm: NCP chief Sharad Pawar, party leaders Ajit Pawar and Jayant Patil, Shiv Sena's Manohar Joshi, Congress leaders Ashok Chavan and Prithviraj Chavan reach the venue for the swearing-in ceremony.

05:55 pm: Rahul Gandhi in a letter to Uddhav Thackeray: “I am glad that Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi has come together to defeat the BJP's attempt to undermine our democracy. I regret that I am unable to be present at the function.”

(Photo: ANI | Twitter)

05:20 pm: Jayant Patil said after swearing in ceremony, Uddhav Thackeray would hold first cabinet meeting at Sahyadri guest house at 8 pm.

05:05 pm: Sonia Gandhi in a letter to Uddhav Thackeray: “Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have come together under quite extraordinary circumstances, at a time when country faces unprecedented threats from BJP. I regret that I'll not be able to be present at the ceremony (oath-taking).”

(Photo: ANI | Twitter)

04:50 pm: Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde said, “There will be a compulsion and a law will be enacted to ensure 80 per cent reservation for locals in the existing and new companies.” He also said the first cabinet meeting of govt would be held later on Thursday.

04:10 pm: Common Minimum Program of 'Maha Vikas Aghadi' (NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena alliance) released.

Read | 'Maha Vikas Aghadi'-- what Cong-NCP-Sena alliance could be named in Maharashtra

03:56 pm: Congress leaders Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut will take oath as Ministers today.

02:50 pm: NCP’s Praful Patel said the state cabinet ministers would be announced in the coming days.

02:45 pm: NCP leader Ajit Pawar said he would not take oath today. “The decision on Deputy Chief Minister is yet to be taken by the party,” he added.

02:00 pm: NCP’s Jayant Patil said he would take oath as a minister. When asked if he would be the Deputy Chief Minister, Jayant Patil said, "That has not been decided yet, I don't know."

Thackeray will be the first member from his family to occupy the top post and the third from Shiv Sena after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane. As he takes over the chief minister's post, Thackeray's first priority would be to address farmers' grievances amongst other issues and to keep the flock together, considering that he will head the newly formed Maha Vikas Aghadi, an alliance of Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress.

Born on July 27, 1960, in Mumbai, Thackeray is the son of late Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray and is a graduate from JJ School of Arts and a published author. He is also a professional photographer whose work has appeared in various magazines and has been showcased at numerous exhibitions.

Thackeray is also the editor-in-chief of 'Saamana', a prominent Marathi newspaper which was founded by his father. He was handed over the responsibility of managing the party during the 2002 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, in which Shiv Sena performed well.

The 59-year-old was appointed as the working president of the party in 2003. In 2004, Bal Thackeray announced him as the next party chief.

Having entered politics at a late age, Uddhav has had a short span of time to prove his mettle in his party and the state. Under his capable guidance, his party swept several local and state elections.

The chief minister-designate has also expanded the party base and network across the state including local bodies and zila parishads.

Thackeray organised a successful debt relief campaign for the farmers of Vidarbha region. The farmers in the region were under heavy debt following a long dry spell in 2007.

On Tuesday, Thackeray was unanimously elected as the leader of the tri-party alliance which met the Governor B D Koshyari to stake claim to form the government in the state.

The Shiv Sena chief spoke to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the phone on Wednesday and invited him to the oath-taking ceremony, party sources confirmed.