Mukesh Ambani, Family On Stage As Uddhav Thackeray Took Chief Minister’s Oath

Industrialiast Mukesh Ambani was on stage with Uddhav Thackeray as he took oath as Chief Minister

Mumbai:

Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, his wife Nita Ambani and his son Anant Ambani, were among the dignitaries and political leaders who accompanied Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray on stage at Shivaji Park this evening, where Mr Thackeray was sworn-in as Chief Minister of Maharashtra. Mr Thackeray, the first member of his family to hold a political post, will head an unlikely coalition that includes the Nationalist Congress Party and the Congress. The three parties – who have formed the Maha Vikas Aghadi – came together after the BJP-Sena alliance that fought last month’s election fell out over post-poll power-sharing talks.

Dressed in a saffron silk kurta, Uddhav Thackeray prayed before the ‘Shivrajyabhishek‘ – a statue depicting the crowning of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj – before taking oath in Marathi. Mr Thackeray’s wife Rashmi Thackeray and son Aaditya Thackeray, who made his political debut last month (he won the election from Worli Assembly seat) joined him on a grand fort-like stage designed by Sena leader and Bollywood art director Nitin Desai.

After the swearing-in ceremony Mukesh Ambani and Aaditya Thackeray, Uddhav Thackeray’s son, shared a hug.

As the newly-formed Maha Vikas Aghadi took office, six ministers — two each from the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — were sworn in by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will hold his first state cabinet meeting at 8 pm today.

Uddhav Thackeray’s estranged cousin, Raj Thackeray was also present, as were former Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. Mr Fadnavis’s secretive swearing-in at 7.50 am on Saturday sparked a week filled with high drama and political intrigue in the state.

Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi were absent, however. In a letter written by Mrs Gandhi to Mr Thackeray, she urged the new government to focus on farmers in distress.

“The Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress have agreed to a common programme and I am confident that all three parties will strive their utmost to implement that programme in letter and spirit,” she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had also been personally invited, was also absent.

Shivaji Park, where Uddhav Thackeray took his oath, is an iconic space in Mumbai and the history of the Sena. The party, founded by Mr Thackeray’s father, Bal Thackeray, in 1966, held its first public meeting at this sprawling 28-acres space in the city’s Dadar (West) area.

Earlier this year Mr Ambani, who is close to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, raised eyebrows by endorsing Congress leader Milind Deora ahead of Lok Sabha polls in Mumbai. That placed him directly opposite to the position taken by his brother, Anil Ambani, who had been relentlessly attacked by Congress president Rahul Gandhi.