Yesterday, Vilasrao Deshmukh paid a quick visit to Puttaparthi in Andhra Pradesh to seek the blessings of Sathya Sai Baba. Today, his pilgrimage after being sworn-in as the Chief Minister included visits to Siddhivinayak temple and Chaitya Bhoomi, the memorial of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.‘‘I still can’t believe that the son of a small farmer from an area like Sangli can become Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra,’’ said R.R. Patil after the ceremony, his proud wife, Suman, by his side.In fact, when he was asked to step forward for the swearing-in, to the sound of cheers from NCP activists, Patil eben betrayed signs of nervousness — his hands shook and voice dropped. Both Deshmukh and Patil took oath in Marathi, administered by Governor Mohammad Fazal at Raj Bhavan. Supporters from Deshmukh’s home district Latur and Patil’s domain Sangli thronged the Raj Bhavan.The duo later left for Mantralaya where they unveiled the government’s agenda at their first press conference. ‘‘The government’s priority will be to tide over the financial crisis, solve problems of cotton growers and make available drinking water in areas like Vidarbha,’’ said Deshmukh, the 23rd CM of the state.The state is likely to get a Central package which will solve various financial problems, he indicated. The Centre is also likely to replace the state government’s debts with low interest loans which will ease the interest burden on the state exchequer. The government will also stick to its promise of providing free electricity to farmers, the new CM said.The rest of the cabinet will be sworn in on November 3 and a special three-day session of the Assembly will be called on November 4.
