In a key political development from Maharashtra, senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal was sworn in as the cabinet minister in the Mahayuti government on Tuesday, May 20. The oath ceremony took place at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. He was sworn in by Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, were present at the event. After taking the oath, Bhujbal spoke to the media. Chhagan Bhujbal began his political journey with the Shiv Sena in the 1960s, during a time when the movement for the rights of Marathi speakers was at its peak. Currently the MLA from Yeola in Nashik district, Bhujbal has held several key portfolios over the years, including serving as the 5th Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1999 to 2003.

Amid speculations of rift in the Nationalist Congress Party, Ajit Pawar, along with eight leaders of the NCP took the oath of office on Sunday. A disgruntled Ajit Pawar made the latest move four years after he tried to divide the Nationalist Congress Party as he once again took oath as the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister, a post he will share with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis. This came after he held an urgent meeting with NCP MLAs earlier in the day and, according to sources, at least 30-40 of the party’s legislators were in attendance. Among those who switched sides along with Ajit Pawar are Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aatram Dharamraobaba Bhagwantrao, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Baburao Bansode, and Anil Bhaidas Patil.