Finance
In a significant political upset, Opposition Leader Ajit Pawar’split’ the Nationalist Congress Party on Sunday to take oath as Deputy Chief Minister in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party coalition of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Senior politicians and MLAs such as Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse-Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Dharmarao Baba Atram, Aditi Sunil Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, and Anil Patil were sworn in as ministers with Pawar this afternoon.
Pawar has taken the oath as Deputy Chief Minister three times in three years, first in 2019 under then-CM Devendra Fadnavis under the two-man regime that lasted 80 hours, then with Maha Vikas Aghadi ex-CM Uddhav Thackeray, and now with Shiv Sena CM Shinde.
After a frantic morning filled with cloak-and-dagger intrigue, Maharashtra now has two Deputy Chief Ministers — Fadnavis and Pawar — for the first time in its history.
Pawar has also appointed Aditi S. Tatkare, the daughter of NCP MP Sunil Tatkare, to the Shinde ministry, which will take office in June 2022.
In response to the developments, NCP President Sharad Pawar told close aides in Pune that the “party does not support the swearing-in ceremony” and that all who have departed to join Ajit Pawar’s group must make their own decision.
The party further claims that 80% of those who have joined Ajit Pawar will return to the NCP “very soon.”
Sanjay Raut, MP and Chief Spokesperson for the Shiv Sena (UBT), stated that almost all the ministers sworn-in today have serious enforcement inquiries pending against them.
“All those whom the BJP had threatened to throw in jail have now been inducted as Ministers,” said Raut.
Top Shiv Sena-BJP politicians have hailed Ajit Pawar’s decision to join their government, saying it will boost them even further in their efforts to provide a strong regime in the state.
Shinde stated that Pawar’s decision will provide the government with a “triple-engine” and that the administration will proceed at the pace of a bullet train for the sake of the state’s progress.
Raut went on to say that some people have taken on the duty of ‘cleaning up’ Maharashtra politics, and they are allowed to do so.
“I have spoken with Sharad Pawar. He said ‘I am strong, we have the support of the people. We will rebuild everything again with Uddhav Thackeray’. Yes, the people will not tolerate this game for long,” declared Raut.
After a normal meeting of Pawar and his supporting MLAs on a peaceful Sunday morning, the fast-paced political developments began.
There was tremendous conjecture in political circles because the meeting was kept secret, but within hours, the decision was made to dump the NCP and join the Shinde-Fadnavis dictatorship.
Pawar, along with numerous NCP heavyweights, went to Raj Bhavan this afternoon to see Governor Ramesh Bais and send over a letter of support signed by over three dozen MLAs.
Shinde, Fadnavis, BJP state President Chandrashekhar Bawankule, and other prominent figures of the ruling alliance headed to Raj Bhavan shortly after.
After noon, the state’s political landscape had shifted dramatically, and more shocks were not fully ruled out, as Sharad Pawar is expected to to reach Mumbai this evening.
Source:IANS
