In a stunning turnaround in the political drama in Maharashtra, the BJP, under care-taker chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, formed the government in Maharashtra early on Saturday morning, with support from Ajit Pawar of the NCP, who has apparently broken away from his uncle Sharad Pawar. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to the two in the morning ceremony, where only official media was present.
"People had given us a clear mandate, but Shiv Sena tried to ally with other parties after results, after which President's rule was imposed. Maharashtra needed a stable govt not a 'khichidi' govt," Fadnavis said.
Ajit Pawar, after taking oath as the deputy chief minister, said: "From result day on October 24, no party was able to form the government. Maharashtra was facing many problems, including farmers issues. So we decided to form a stable government."
The development comes even as the Shiv Sena, Congress and NCP finalised their plans to form a coalition government in Maharashtra on Friday, with Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray to be chief minister. Earlier, there had been speculation that Ajit Pawar could break away from the NCP, which has a total of 54 MLAs, and support the BJP.
NCP chief Sharad Pawar said it was a personal decision of Ajit Pawar to join hands with the BJP.
The BJP-NCP government took charge in Maharashtra after the President's rule, imposed in the state a fortnight ago, was revoked.
According to a Home Ministry notification, President Ram Nath Kovind issued the proclamation for revocation of the central rule this morning. The gazette notification to this effect was issued by Union Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla at 5.47 am.
(With inputs from PTI)
