Ajit Pawar likely to be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra
Mumbai/IBNS: Ajit Pawar, who had broken ranks with NCP-Shiv Sena-Congress alliance to support the formation of a BJP led government in Maharashtra, is likely to be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, an NDTV report said.
Sharad Pawar led Nationalist Congress Party had taken the decision about Ajit Pawar last week after a discussion with Shiv Sena Chief and Chief Minister of Maharashtra Udhav Thackeray, the report said, a little over a month after Ajit had taken everyone by surprise with the early morning swearing in ceremony in which he and Devendra Fadnavis were sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister and Chief Minister respectively.
Ajit had resigned hours before Supreme Court ordered floor test to prove BJP's majority in Maharashtra Assembly, foiling BJP's 80-hour long political gymnastics to claim power in the state.
According to reports, the Congress was not part of the discussion but kept in the loop.
As many as 36 ministers could take oath on the day.
Currently, the Uddhav Thackeray-led cabinet has six ministers besides chief minister Thackeray.
There can be 42 cabinet ministers, including the Chief Minister, in Maharashtra,
The swearing-in will take place at the Vidhan Bhavan (state legislature complex) here.
All the arrangement are made in Vidhan Bhavan in which Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari will administer the oath to new ministers.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray took oath as the 19th Maharashtra Chief Minister on Nov 28, becoming the first from his popular family to assume the topmost position to lead a "secular government" in association with ideologically opposite Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress.
Sena formed government with ideologically different NCP and Congress after they fell out with poll ally BJP over demand for a rotational chief minister.
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