You don’t witness twists such these. In an early morning development, the BJP and NCP came together to form government in Maharashtra.

President’s Rule was revoked at 5:47am and by around 8am Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister.

This move by the BJP took many by surprise and questions are being raised on whether Ajit Pawar split the party to join hands with the BJP. What came as a surprise to many was that this development took place just hours after the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress said that they would be making a formal announcement to form government in Maharashtra. It was even said that Uddhav Thackeray of the Shiv Sena would be the CM, while the NCP and Congress would have a deputy each. The Shiv Sena in its mouthpiece Saamana had even announced that it would be Uddhav Thackeray.

Going by the developments, it appears as though this was a call taken by Ajit Pawar. He said after being sworn in that the talks with the Shiv Sena and Congress were never ending. The state of Maharashtra needed a stable government and hence this decision was taken.

Devendra Fadnavis too thanked only Ajit Pawar, while not mentioning Sharad Pawar. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union home minister Amit Shah and a host of other leaders congratulated both Fadnavis and Pawar junior and said that they would work for the welfare of Maharashtra.

In the aftermath of the swearing in ceremony, Sharad Pawar distanced himself from the developments. The decision taken by Ajit Pawar is personal. It is not an NCP decision. We do not endorse or support it he said. Praful Patel of the NCP said that Sharad Pawar had nothing to do with this decision.

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The BJP however maintains that it has the support of all the 54 MLAs. The people were getting sick of these developments and never-ending talks. The state needed a government. The mandate was given to the BJP and Shiv Sena, but the latter made a mockery of it. When asked about the longevity of the government, a BJP source told MyNation that all 54 MLAs of the NCP are with us. We have 105 seats of our own and also the support of 15 independent MLAs. Together we have 174 in the 288-member house, the BJP leader also said.

Fadnavis after being sworn in said that he is determined to provide a strong government. I am happy that I have been given a chance to serve as the chief minister of Maharashtra. The people had given a clear mandate, but the Shiv Sena, which fought the elections with us rejected the peoples’ mandate. The state needs a strong government and we will give the people that.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he is confident that both Fadnavis and Pawar would work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra. In a tweet, Modi said, “congratulations to @Dev_Fadnavis Ji and @AjitPawarSpeaks Ji on taking oath as the CM and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively. I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra.”


"Hearty congratulations to Shri @Dev_Fadnavis ji on taking oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra and Shri @AjitPawarSpeaks as Deputy Chief Minister of the state. "I am confident that this government will be continuously committed to the development and welfare of Maharashtra and will set new standards of progress in the state," Amit Shah said in a tweet.

JP Nadda, working president of the BJP said, “I Congratulate @Dev_Fadnavis Ji and @AjitPawarSpeaks Ji on taking oath as the CM and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively. I am sure that under the guidance of Hon PM @narendramodi Ji, BJP-NCP Gov will take Maharashtra to newer heights."