Uddhav Thackeray Arrived Late, Seated Near PM Modi: 10 Developments

Devendra Fadnavis is now officially Chief Minister. He took his oath in a packed stadium.

His small cabinet of nine people includes Pankaja Munde, who was at one time competing with him to lead the new government.

The VIPs in the audience included Uddhav Thackeray, the top leader of the Shiv Sena, who had RSVP-ed, but was persuaded to change his mind by a phone call from BJP chief Amit Shah.

Mr Thackeray and his party are hoping for a larger invitation to join the new government in Maharashtra. "His coming was a big step, talks are moving in the right direction," said the new Chief Minister.

Mr Thackeray was seated five people away from the Prime Minister. They shook hands when Mr Thackeray arrived. All political A-listers were on a large stage near the one where Mr Fadnavis took his oath.

Protocol mandates that the Chief Minister and the Governor be seated separately.

A massive LED was used to screen images 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, was in charge of choreographing the event. He told NDTV that his designs included a depiction of the coronation of Shivaji, the iconic 17th-century warrior-king and Maratha icon.

Mr Desai said he was given a detailed brief by Mr Fadnavis, who wanted tourist attractions like the state's famous Ajanta Ellora caves to be highlighted at the event.

Because the swearing-in is a government event, the BJP's symbol, the lotus, could not get special focus within the stadium. So the party placed at least 20 gigantic lotuses on boats in the Arabian Sea that were visible from the city's famous Marine Drive.