There is a new twist in the Maharashtra political thriller. Rebel Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde — and not Devendra Fadnavis as was widely expected — will take oath as the next chief minister of Maharashtra.

Addressing a joint press conference, BJP leader and former CM Fadnavis announced that Shinde would be succeeding Uddhav Thackeray.

Fadnavis said the BJP will support the Shinde group and take responsibilities for the smooth functioning of government.

Shinde's elevation to the top seat in Maharashtra comes after he led a rebellion last week, whisking away a majority of the Shiv Sena's MLAs first to Surat and then Guwahati. The rebel MLAs are currently camping in Goa, a BJP ruled state.

Eknath Shinde has consistently maintained that they are the real Shiv Sena since over two-thirds of the legislators are with their camp.

Uddhav Thackeray resigned as CM late last night after the Supreme Court quashed their plea seeking a stay on the governor's order to conduct a floor test.

News18 Lokmat Editor Ashutosh Patil said, “Devendra Fadnavis has pulled off the biggest surprise in Maharashtra by making Eknath Shinde the chief minister. Maratha and OBC reservation are very important topics in Maharashtra and by this move the state will get a Maratha chief minister. So Fadnavis has hit many targets with one single arrow.”

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