As members of the Maharashtra legislative assembly arrived for the oath-taking ceremony at the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai on Wednesday, NCP MP and Sharad Pawar’s daughter Supriya Sule was seen embracing cousin Ajit Pawar on his arrival.
The BJP government led by Devendra Fadnavis had collapsed on Tuesday after Ajit Pawar’s resignation as deputy chief minister.
Following this, Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray staked claim to form government with the support of NCP and the Congress.
Pro tem Speaker Kalidas Kolambkar began administering oath in the 288-member House at 8 am on Tuesday.
Devendra Fadnavis resigned as chief minister on Tuesday evening, barely 80 hours after taking oath for the second time, the move necessitated by Ajit Pawar’s resignation citing “personal reasons”.
Fadnavis was sworn in on November 23 in an early morning hush-hush ceremony, with the support of Ajit Pawar, who then headed the 54-member NCP legislature party. The NCP removed Ajit Pawar as its legislature party leader soon after his decision to ally with the BJP.
The resignations of Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar came hours after the Supreme Court Tuesday ordered floor test for him on Wednesday to prove his majority in the House saying there is a “possibility of horse trading” in case of delay.
Before submitting his resignation to Koshyari at Raj Bhavan, Fadnavis said his government did not have the majority after Ajit Pawar quit.
Uddhav as CM
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be sworn in as the new Maharashtra chief minister at Shivaji Park on Thursday, News18 reported. He will be the first from the Thackeray family to assume a government post.
Uddhav’s father late Bal Thackeray wielded the ‘remote control’ over the first Sena-BJP combine government during 1995-99 but never assumed a position in the government.
On Tuesday, Thackeray thanked Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, her party and the NCP for their support. “I had never dreamed of leading the state,” he said.
(With inputs from PTI)