For the fourth time in three years, Maharashtra braced for a political earthquake as Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar on Sunday 'split' the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to join the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
The fast-paced political developments came after a routine meeting of his supporting MLAs and within hours, the decision was taken to walk out of the NCP.
This afternoon, Pawar, along with several NCP heavyweights, went to Raj Bhavan to meet Governor Ramesh Bais and hand over a letter of support signed by around three-dozen MLAs.
Soon afterwards, Shinde, Fadnavis, BJP state President Chandrashekhar Bawankule and other senior leaders of the ruling alliance also rushed to Raj Bhavan.
In a huge political upheaval, Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar on Sunday 'split' the Nationalist Congress Party to take oath as Deputy Chief Minister in the ruling alliance of Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
As per latest indicators, Ajit Pawar, along with a few NCP MLAs are slated to take the oath of office.
(With inputs from IANS)
