MUMBAI: NCP chief Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar resigned as Maharashtra deputy chief minister on Tuesday, hours after the Supreme Court ordered the BJP government he supported to prove its majority on the floor of the House by 5 pm tomorrow, a person familiar with the matter told HuffPost India.
Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut told reporters that Uddhav Thackeray would now be the next chief minister of Maharashtra and serve the full five-year term. Raut also said, “Ajit Pawar is with us now”.
Vishal Wakadkar, the president of NCP’s youth wing in Ajit Pawar’s bastion Pimpri Chinchwad near Pune, confirmed to HuffPost India that Ajit Pawar had resigned as the deputy CM of Maharashtra.
A source close to Ajit Pawar indicated that he might announce retirement from politics.
Devendra Fadnavis, who was sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister on Saturday with the support of Ajit Pawar, is scheduled to address a press conference at 3.30 pm on Tuesday and there is speculation that he may also step down.
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Earlier on Tuesday, the Supreme Court had turned down the BJP’s request to give it time till December 15 to prove its majority.
Sharad Pawar, during a joint meeting of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress MLAs in Hotel Hyatt on Tuesday evening, had warned that he won’t let BJP repeat the Manipur and Goa pattern in Maharashtra.