Political twister as Fadnavis is Maharashtra CM, Ajit Pawar his deputy

Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar after being sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister and deputy chief minister.

Hours after Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray was almost anointed as the next chief minister, the state woke up to shocking news on Saturday morning, when Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as CM, and most surprisingly Ajit Pawar as his deputy. This means the Nationalist Congress Party's (NCP) senior leader has split the party to support BJP.

Ajit had revolted in the past also, but he was placated by the uncle, time and again. At least 30 MLAs are reported to be with Ajit.

Uncle Sharad Pawar said the party did not support the nephew's decision. "It is his personal decision," he tweeted.

Also read: 'Ajit's decision to side with BJP his own'

Another theory that is doing the rounds is that Pawar senior's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi had to do with the twist. Some people said the two had decided to join hands while keeping the Sena busy in talks. But many guessed it as Ajit's mutiny.

It was Sharad Pawar who had announced Uddhav as the head of the proposed government of three parties - the Sena , NCP and Congress who were talking terms for at least three weeks.

But the Saturday dawn brought a shocker. A small group of NCP and BJP leaders and bureaucrats headed to the Raj Bhavan where the two leaders were administered oath at around 7.30am. Some 15 NCP legislators were present at the ceremony. Not many former ministers and BJP legislators knew about the move.

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