On Thursday, senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal stated that the decision on the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the newly formed government in the state of Maharashtra will be decided by party supremo Sharad Pawar.
Reportedly, senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal said that the Governor of Maharashtra has given the alliance time till December 4 to prove their majority in the house and decision on the post of Deputy CM will be made before that deadline.
There are speculations that former Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, the nephew of Sharad Pawar could be the Deputy CM in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government in Maharashtra. However, Ajit Pawar will not be taking oath alongside Uddhav Thackeray on Thursday at Shivaji Park in Mumbai.
Earlier, there were also reports stating that the NCP was demanding the Chief Minister’s seat for two and a half years from Shiv Sena as part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra.
Ajit Pawar, who enjoys a considerable amount of support within the party, only next to party chief Sharad Pawar, has also been lobbying for the post of deputy chief minister in the Shiv Sena-Congress-NCP coalition government. In a dramatic turn of events, Ajit Pawar had even taken the risk of supporting the Devendra Fadnavis led BJP government last week. However, he had backed off from the decision after he failed to garner sufficient numbers to support the BJP coalition.
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal also confirmed that he will take oath as minister on Thursday evening in the new Maharashtra government of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance. Along with Bhujbal, senior NCP leader Jayant Patil will take oath on Thursday. Six ministers, two each from all three parties, will be sworn in today.
“NCP chief Sharad Pawar saheb has chosen two MLAs from the party to take oath as ministers and I am one of them. I will take oath as minister today evening,” Bhujbal said.
Speaking at an event organised in Pune to mark the death anniversary of social reformer Jyotiba Phule, Bhujbal said that no decision has been made on allocation of portfolios to the new ministers. He added that NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and other senior leaders from the party will decide on the portfolio issue.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is all set to swear in as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra later today. On Tuesday, Maharashtra Governor Koshyari had invited the new alliance ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ to form a government under the leadership of Uddhav Thackeray.
Earlier, the BJP, which had won 105 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly, had formed a government in Maharashtra. However, they fell short of 40 MLAs to prove a majority. The BJP had relied on Ajit Pawar to bring in NCP MLAs. However, the political gamble failed as Ajit Pawar shied away from supporting the BJP led government at the last moment.
