Senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar changed his Twitter bio Following his appointment to the Maharashtra government led by Eknath Shinde on Sunday. His updated bio now includes the designation of 'Deputy Chief Minister, Maharashtra' along with his previous title of 'Former LoP, Maharashtra Legislative Assembly'.
During a ceremony at the Raj Bhawan, Governor Ramesh Bais administered the oath of office to Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister. In addition, eight other NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, and Hasan Mushrif.
Ajit Pawar announced his decision to support the Maharashtra government and took the oath of office as a minister at a press conference on Sunday. He stated that discussions on portfolio allocation will take place later, and he emphasised the importance of supporting national development.
With the support of 40 of the 53 NCP MLAs, Ajit Pawar has secured more than the required number to avoid the anti-defection law.
The Ajit Pawar rebellion has created a potential split within the NCP, weakening the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance formed by the NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena in Maharashtra. This crisis comes a year after Eknath Shinde, with the support of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), walked out of the alliance and took oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
According to the NCP, Ajit Pawar's actions did not have Sharad Pawar's 'blessing'. The NCP's chief spokesperson, Mahesh Tapase, described the swearing-in ceremony as part of the BJP's 'Operation Lotus'. "All the leaders, workers, district presidents, and frontal organisations have gathered to support NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The party does not officially support the swearing-in ceremony. It is part of 'Operation Lotus'. In their individual capacities, leaders have taken oaths," Tapase said in a statement.
The development comes after Ajit Pawar was sidelined from the party's working president position, while Supriya Sule and Praful Patel were promoted.