New Delhi: As senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar took oath as his deputy, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday said that such things happen when a 'deserving party worker' gets a 'secondary role'. Speaking to reporters, Shinde said that now the double engine government has a 'triple engine'.


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"Politics of development is being backed by a man of development. When a deserving party worker gets a secondary role, such things happen," Eknath Shinde said about Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar, who is known to display rebellious streaks.


"Now the double engine government has a triple engine. The state will sprint (on the path of development). Now we have one CM and two deputy chief ministers. This will help faster development of the state," Shinde added.


Ajit Pawar takes oath as deputy CM in Eknath Shinde-led govt


Ajit Pawar on Sunday marked a vertical split in his uncle's Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party and joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as deputy chief minister.


While Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the deputy CM by Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais at the ceremony held in the Raj Bhawan, eight other NCP leaders took oath as ministers. Those who were sworn in as ministers are Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode.


Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who was present in the Raj Bhawan, said Ajit Pawar has resigned as the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lower House and he has accepted it.


Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal and NCP working president Praful Patel were also present at the Raj Bhawan.


Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed 40 MLAs of NCP (out of the total 53) have supported the state government.


The presence of NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and party's working president Supriya Sule at the Opposition meeting in Patna last month had reportedly irked Ajit Pawar and his supporters.


Elections to the 288-member state Assembly are due next year.


Maharashtra sees four oath-taking ceremonies in four years


The swearing-in of Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister has meant Maharashtra has seen four oath-taking ceremonies in as many years at its stately Raj Bhavan.


In November 2019, after the Assembly polls and the split between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Shiv Sena, Devendra Fadnavis and NCP's Ajit Pawar were sworn in as CM and Deputy CM, respectively, in an early morning ceremony in Raj Bhavan. The government lasted just 80 hours as Pawar was unable to cause a split in his party.


Within a month, Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as CM after his party joined hands with the NCP and Congress to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi government. Incidentally, Ajit Pawar, who had returned to the NCP, was the deputy CM in this government.


The MVA government fell in June last year after minister Eknath Shinde and 39 MLAs revolted against Thackeray and split the Shiv Sena.


Shinde was sworn in as CM on June 30 with the support of the BJP. This time, Fadnavis as made deputy CM.


While Bhagat Singh Koshyari was the governor when the first three oath-taking ceremonies took place, Sunday's political developments have come when Ramesh Bais is occupying the gubernatorial chair.


Assembly polls in Maharashtra are likely to be held around October next year, some months after the Lok Sabha elections.