Maharashtra Government Formation: Maharashtra’s caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who was down with fever and cold in his native village amid suspense over his successor’s name, is recovering and will return to Mumbai on Sunday evening, news agency PTI reported quoting Shinde’s associate. A team of doctors checked on Shinde as he developed a high fever on Saturday.

Shinde headed to his native village Dare in Satara district amid speculation that he was not happy with the new government. Shinde had a fever and throat infection, his family doctor RM Parte said. “He has been given medicines and put on IV (intra-venous therapy for medication). He will feel better in two days. He is leaving for Mumbai on Sunday,” Dr Parte said.

A close aide of Shinde on Sunday also said the caretaker CM has been under the weather for some time and developed a fever on Saturday. Meanwhile, the swearing-in of the new Mahayuti government in Maharashtra will take place on December 5 evening at the Azad Maidan in south Mumbai, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said. PM Narendra Modi will attend the oath-taking ceremony, he said. BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis is being seen as the frontrunner for the top post. 

The Mahayuti alliance of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) retained power with a landslide victory in the assembly elections, the results of which were announced on November 23.

While the simple majority figure in the 288-member House is 145, the BJP alone bagged 132 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 57 and NCP with 41 seats.