Sharad Pawar-led MCA gives Wankhede Stadium free for Maharashtra oath-taking ceremony

Mumbai: Sharad Pawar-led Mumbai Cricket Association will charge no fee for lending its Wankhede Stadium for hosting swearing-in ceremony of the first BJP government in Maharashtra on October 31.

44-year-old Devendra Fadnavis, who was yesterday elected leader of the BJP Legislature Party, will take oath of office along with few others in an impressive ceremony at the stadium, which will host a government function for the first time.

"Since it is a government function, we are not going to charge anything," MCA joint secretary Nitin Dalal told PTI.

He said state's Chief Secretary Swadheen Kshatriya had approached MCA CEO C S Naik a few days ago with a request to allow the venue to be used for swearing-in of the new government, which the association acceded to.

Pawar's NCP with 41 MLAs has offered outside support to BJP, which has emerged as the largest party in the 288-member Assembly for the first time with 122 seats, in forming the government.

Though usually such events are held at Raj Bhavan, the Shiv Sena-BJP government led by Manohar Joshi was sworn-in at a function at Shivaji Park in 1995.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, several of his Cabinet colleagues, Chief Ministers of BJP-ruled states will attend the ceremony where prominent industrialists and Bollywood celebrities are also likely to be present.

According to BJP sources, about 30,000 people are expected to be present at the event for which art director Nitin Desai has been hired to create the decor.