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The Divecha Pavilion, Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion, Sachin Tendulkar Stand and Vijay Merchant Pavilion were packed as BJP workers descended on the stadium from all 36 of Maharashtra’s districts. They weathered Mumbai’s October heat and the security cordon to crowd into the stands. Actor Nana Patekar could not enter despite his pass because of the rush.
The BJP used the occasion to revive memories of party veterans like Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Vasantrao Bhagwat, Pramod Mahajan, Gopinath Munde and Hashu Advani through prominent portraits. However, the crowd was more interested in pictures of Narendra Modi, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L K Advani and Amit Shah, on display in the Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion.
Anil Munde, 25, had come from Beed, Gopinath Munde’s district. “It is a great moment. I have been watching cricket matches at Wankhede Stadium on TV. This is a match with a difference. The BJP has emerged as Maharashtra’s single largest party because of a Modi wave. This is like watching Sachin Tendulkar’s century.’’
Alka Mishra, a housewife from Nagpur, Fadnavis’ hometown, was happy to see a leader from the underdeveloped Vidarbha region becoming the chief minister. “With Modi at the Centre and Fadnavis in Maharashtra, we expect development to pick up,” she said.
A cultural programme, Marathi Bana, kept the streaming audience engaged till oath taking began at 4.26 pm. A giant screen flashed images to a narrative linking Maharashtra's history to its contemporary culture. Bollywood art director Nitin Desai, who has designed sets for movies like Jodha Akbar and Devdas, was in charge of the event’s design.
“Desai’s designs, including Chhatrapati Shivaji's coronation, will be displayed. In addition, 20-25 boats carrying cut-outs of the lotus are anchored in the Arabian Sea. These boats, visible from Marine Drive, are part of the ceremony,” BJP spokesman Atul Shah told Business Standard. The Ajanta-Ellora caves were another attraction at the event.
Fadnavis swearing-in: A star studded affair
