Three years after forming the Maharashtra government in an overnight coup with Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar, deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis stated on Monday that the exercise had the support of NCP head Sharad Pawar, news agency PTI reported.


“We had an offer from the NCP that they needed a stable government and we should form such a government together. We decided to go ahead and hold talks. The talks happened with Sharad Pawar. Then things changed. You have seen how things changed,” Fadnavis stated, alluding to Ajit Pawar's resignation from the government 80 hours later.


At an event organised by TV9 news channel, Fadnavis stated: “In all fairness I want to state that Ajit Pawar took oath with me with honesty... but later on their (NCP’s) strategy changed."


In response to Fadnavis’ remarks, Sharad Pawar said: “I felt that Devendra is a cultured person and a gentleman. I never felt that he will take recourse to falsehood and make such a statement.” 


The results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, which were revealed on October 24, 2019, showed that the BJP had won 105 seats. 56 seats were gained by the Shiv Sena, which was aligned with the BJP. Despite having enough seats to form a government together, the two partners quarrelled about power-sharing, with who would obtain the position of chief minister being the sticking point. As a result, the Shiv Sena began talks with the ideologically opposed Congress and NCP.


On November 12, the Center imposed President's Rule in Maharashtra without seeing any results at the time. Uddhav Thackeray was eventually named as the new government's leader by Sharad Pawar after the Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP began talks to forge an alliance. So it came as a surprise when Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took their oaths of office early on November 23.


The swearing-in of Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister by then-governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari was one of the biggest political surprises in Maharashtra history. Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister following the three-day government.


(With Inputs From PTI)