Uddhav Thackeray swearing in as Maharashtra CM today

Siv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray to be the next chief minister of Maharashtra on Thursday. Uddhav, the first Thackeray to be a chief minister of the state, will conduct the oath at 6.40pm at Shivaji Park, the ground in Dadar where his father, the late Bal Thackeray, founded Shiv Sena in 1966.

The MVA has sent out invitations for the ceremony to senior leaders from across the country, sending out a message to BJP, a day after forcing Devendra Fadnavis to quit as chief minister.

The Shiv Sena has also invited 400 state farmers and relatives of those who died because agricultural crisis. Most of these farmers are from the Marathwada, where unseasonal rain destroyed crops last month.

Among political leaders, Congress president Sonia Gandhi; West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee; Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal; DMK president MK Stalin; Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav; and CMs of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh — both states have Congress governments — have been invited.

Sena leader and newly elected MLA Aaditya Thackeray along with party secretary Milind Narvekar, who are close to Uddhav Thackeray, personally extended the invitation to Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, preparations for the ceremony have begun at Shivaji Park.

Sena leader Eknath Shinde said, “It is going to be a historic ceremony. Shiv Tirth is a special place; there is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj figure on the ground; the memorial of Balasaheb Thackeray is there; and with their blessings and guidance, Uddhavji will take oath to lead the state. A people’s government is going to come to power now.”