In a dramatic turn of events Saturday, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister along with NCP leader Ajit Pawar as his deputy. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to the two leaders at Raj Bhawan. Within minutes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Fadnavis and Pawar. "I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra," he said.
Taking note of the sudden political developments in Maharashtra, NCP chief Sharad Pawar said his nephew Ajit Pawar's decision to ally with the BJP was a "personal" one and not taken by the party. Taking to Twitter, he said, "Ajit Pawar's decision to support the BJP to form the Maharashtra Government is his personal decision and not that of the Nationalist Congress Party. We place on record that we do not support or endorse this decision of his."
The development comes a day after the alliance between Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress reached a consensus that Uddhav Thackeray would be the new Chief Minister of the state, heading a government of their alliance. The BJP won 105 seats in the 228-member Assembly, while the NCP had garnered 54 seats. The BJP needed the support of at least 10 MLAs to stake claim. Apart from Ajit, no other NCP leader was present at the swearing-in ceremony.
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