Mumbai: Eknath Shinde has agreed to take oath as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the Mahayuti government led by Devendra Fadnavis, India Today reported.

According to the report, Shinde Shiv Sena MLA Uday Samant said Fadnavis's formal letter to the Governor revealed that Shinde would accept the deputy's post.

Earlier in the day, Samant said that none of the Shinde Sena MLAs would accept ministerial posts, if Shinde did not become the Deputy Chief Minister, according to the report

Earlier, reports had revealed that Shinde, who led the Mahayuti government after splitting with Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Maha Vikas Aghadi regime in Maharashtra, wasn’t willing to accept the Deputy’s role in the new setting.

There were rumours that he might even skip the oath-taking ceremony, according to an NDTV report.

The speculations gained momentum after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat said the party members are set to convince Shinde to take oath.

"We are sure Shinde-saab will listen to our requests and take oath as the deputy CM. We are going to convince him," said Shirsat.

The swearing-in ceremony at Mumbai’s Azad Maidan is scheduled for 5:30 pm and will be attended by prominent BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Fifty four-year-old Devendra Fadnavis is set for his third term as Chief Minister.

His first tenure spanned from October 2014 to November 2019, making him the youngest Chief Minister of the state at 44.

However, his second term was brief, lasting just five days from November 23 to 28, 2019, after the Shiv Sena broke its alliance with the BJP.

NCP leader Ajit Pawar will also take the oath as one of the Deputy Chief Ministers alongside Fadnavis.

The Mahayuti alliance secured a dominant victory in the November 20 elections, winning 230 out of 288 Assembly seats.

The BJP emerged as the largest party with a record 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively.

On Eknath Shinde’s potential inclusion in the Mahayuti 2.0 government, Shiv Sena leader Deepak Kesarkar said party MLAs had urged him to accept the deputy’s post during a meeting on Wednesday.

“Even Devendra Fadnavis accepted the post of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister after the central BJP leadership insisted (in 2022). Our parties are different, but principles and ideologies are the same,” he was quoted as saying by India Today.