Azad Maidan set for Maharashtra CM’s swearing-in, a historic event in Mumbai | File Photo
Mumbai: The iconic Azad Maidan in south Mumbai known for political rallies right from the independence movement, protests meetings and later for sports pitches, will mark another historic event on Thursday, December 5 when the next Maharashtra chief minister will take his oath.
The event will be attended by PM Narendra Modi, chief ministers of around 16 states and several top BJP-led NDA leaders. This will be the second swearing-in ceremony at the historic Azad Maidan after late Vilasrao Deshmukh was sworn in as the CM in November 2004 in the then Congress-NCP government.
However, Azad (Independence) Maidan which holds India’s rich history, located a stone-throw away from iconic buildings including BMC headquarters, CSMT and Killa Court among others, has lost its charm over the years. The approximately 1,45,041 sq mt big ground (including the Bombay Gymkhana area) has now in practicality divided into parts, with a major portion going for Metro 3 construction work.
The ground, which earlier had 22 plots has produced cricketers starting from Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli to Shardul Thakur and Yashasvi Jaiswal, and now has a mere seven plots functional. While a small section is reserved for the public to hold protest meetings and another for vehicular parking.
Of the approximately 1,45,041 sq mt total ground, approximately 2,858 sq mt is presently used for MMRCL’s underground Metro 3 construction work, and the remaining area is for public use, including protest meetings and sports activities.
The December 5 swearing-in ceremony will take place on 5,6,020 sq mt land of the Azad Maidan, which is presently used for sports activities. The area can accommodate 35,000 people. Owing to scheduled matches at the Wankhede stadium and preparations for Mahaparinirman Divas (December 6) in Shivaji Park ground the swearing-in being held at Azad Maidan.
BJP leaders Pravin Darekar and Mohit Kamboj who visited the Azad Maidan on Tuesday to review the swearing-in ceremony preparations said, “Around 40,000 people will attend the ceremony. The event is open to the public. Big screens will be installed outside the ground so people can watch the swearing-in ceremony.
“It will be the CM and two Dy CMs taking the oath. We will set up 43 chairs and we hope 43 ministers take oath to form the new government,” Kamboj said maintaining the suspense of new CM’s face and division of ministry within the Mahayuti.
