Ajit Pawar Joins Eknath Shinde Govt, Takes Oath As Maharashtra Deputy CM

NCP leader Ajit Pawar's sudden oath-taking ceremony came hours after he met some of his party leaders at his official residence in Mumbai.

New Delhi: In what is seen as a massive political development ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday was sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government. Pawar, who will now share the deputy CM post with Bharatiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis, took the oath at the Raj Bhavan along with several of his NCP colleagues including senior politician Chhagan Bhujbal.

Ajit Pawar's sudden oath-taking ceremony came hours after he met some of his party leaders at his official residence in Mumbai. Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and party's working president Supriya Sule were among the leaders who were present at the meeting held at Ajit Pawar's official residence 'Devgiri', while state party president Jayant Patil was not present. Some NCP MLAs were also present in the meeting.

Sharad Pawar 'unaware' of Ajit's meeting

Earlier in the day, NCP president Sharad Pawar had said that he was 'unaware' of his nephew Ajit Pawar's meeting, He, however, added that Ajit, who was then the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Maharashtra Assembly, can call a meeting of legislators.

Out of the total 53 NCP MLAs in the state, as many as 30 are reportedly with Ajit Pawar. 

Ajit Pawar had ion Wednesday announced that he wants to step down as Leader of the Opposition in Maharashtra and would like any party post.

While speaking at the party event in Mumbai, he said, "I was never interested in working as Leader of Opposition but accepted the role on demand of the party MLAs. Assign me any post in the party organisation and I will do complete justice to whatever responsibility given to me."

This 'circus' won't last long: Sanjay Raut on Ajit Pawar's move

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said that the NCP supremo Sharad Pawar is 'undeterred' by the split in his party and can start afresh.

In a tweet in Marathi, the Rajya Sabha MP said, "I just spoke with NCP Sharad Pawar. He said he is firm and people's support is behind us. We can make a fresh start with Uddhav Thackeray."

Raut added that the people of Maharashtra will not tolerate such a 'circus', an apparent reference to government formation through vertical splits in political parties, for long.

"Some people seem to be determined to completely spoil Maharashtra's politics. Let them proceed on their chosen path," said Raut, in an apparent reference to Ajit Pawar, CM Eknath Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

महाराष्ट्राच्या राजकारणाचे साफ मातेरे करण्याचां विडा काही लोकांनी उचलला आहे.त्यांना त्यांच्या मार्गाने जाऊ द्या.
माझे आताच श्री.शरद पवार यांच्याशी बोलणे झाले.ते म्हणाले" मी खंबीर आहे.लोकांचा पाठिंबा आपल्याला आहे. उद्धव ठाकरें सह पुन्हा सर्व नव्याने उभे करू.". होय,जनता हे खेळ फार… pic.twitter.com/fsBbIZGoFE — Sanjay Raut (@rautsanjay61) July 2, 2023