In a surprising turn of events, Ajit Pawar, a prominent politician from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), joined the Maharashtra government led by Eknath Shinde as the deputy chief minister on Sunday.
This unanticipated move has sent shockwaves through the political landscape of the Maharashtra politics. At a ceremony in Raj Bhawan, nine NCP leaders, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde, and Dilip Walse Patil, took oath as ministers alongside Ajit Pawar.
Pawar’s entry into the government, with claims of support from 40 NCP MLAs, has certainly sparked an intense crisis for the NCP while the situation has given a series of speculations for the people and media.
PTI reported that 30 MLAs are with Ajit Pawar out of the total 53 NCP MLAs in the state. As a result, the Maharashtra Cabinet will now consist of nine ministers from the BJP, nine from Shiv Sena, and nine from the NCP, consisting of the chief minister and two deputy chief ministers. The cabinet can have 43 members as the max number.
The political scenario in Maharashtra has once again witnessed an unpredicted twist with Ajit Pawar’s entry into Eknath Shinde’s government and the solid fracture for the NCP leader Sharad Pawar.