A replica of the Ajanta-Ellora caves being created at the Wankhede Stadium
Friday is show-time for the BJP, which will form its first government in Maharashtra with what's being billed as an epic inauguration ceremony at Mumbai's Wankhade Stadium.
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Devendra Fadnavis, who will take over as Chief Minister, may do a victory lap of the stadium, where India won the World Cup in 2011. Just like the cricket team that included Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni, a brisk round of the stands is being considered for Mr Fadnavis, contingent upon security clearances.
Mr Fadnavis, who is 44, will take his oath on a stage that will be shared by the Governor of the state.
Another stage will likely steal the show- it will seat Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose exhaustive campaign powered his party's strongest-ever result in the state. Mr Modi will be flanked by other BJP heavyweights including party president Amit Shah.
A massive LED screen will flash images of the Prime Minister; it will also serve up a narrative that links Maharashtra's history to its contemporary culture.
Bollywood art director Nitin Desai, who designed the sets for movies like Jodha Akbar and Devdas, is in charge of the production design for the entire event. He told NDTV that his designs include a depiction of the coronation of Shivaji, the iconic 17th-century warrior-king and Maratha icon.
Mr Desai said he has been given a detailed brief by Mr Fadnavis, who wants tourist attractions like the state's famous Ajanta-Ellora caves to be highlighted at the event.
The BJP expects a by-inivation-only audience of 30,000 people. 4,000 VIP invitees include actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir khan, industrialists like Ratan Tata and the Ambani brothers, and politicians ranging from Sharad Pawar to the estranged Thackeray cousins, Raj and Uddhav.
Because the swearing-in is a government event, the BJP's symbol, the lotus, cannot be given special focus within the stadium. So the party has planned to place at least 20 gigantic lotuses in the Arabian Sea that will be visible from the city's famous Marine Drive.
The lotus arrangement is also a tribute, the party said, to a poem written by iconic BJP leader and former prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee about the flower in bloom as the sun's rays wash over it.
Sources say more than 2,000 policemen will be on duty at the stadium.
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