BJP’s first government in Maharashtra will be sworn-in today in a grand ceremony at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. The BJP Government led by Devendra Fadnavis and a mini cabinet will be sworn-in today in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other political stalwarts, actors, artists and industrialists. In the October 15 election, the BJP had emerged as the single largest party with 122 seats in the 288 member assembly.

While preparations are in full swing for the swearing-in ceremony, the rift between BJP and Shiv Sena seems to have further widened. The Shiv Sena has said its leaders will not attend the swearing-in ceremony. Talking to reporters after meeting the Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray, Party MP Vinayak Raut said that the Shiv Sena has constantly been humiliated by the BJP, which has not gone down well with the party MLAs. Mr. Raut also said that the meeting of senior Shiv Sena leaders that was to take place last evening, was cancelled.

BJP General Secretary Rajiv Pratap Rudy earlier, in a tweet, had said that it is unlikely that the Shiv Sena will be a part of the government as of now. Rudy maintained that BJP was looking forward to a decision in this regard soon. BJP is still short of a majority, however it enjoys the outside and unconditional support of NCP.