Mumbai, July 2: Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party is poised to join the Maharashtra cabinet led by Eknath Shinde, who earlier mounted a mutiny against his own party Shiv Sena.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar arrived to Raj Bhawan on Sunday with 29 party MLAs, including Hassan Musharraf, only days after pledging to quit as Leader of Opposition in the Maharastra Assembly.
Pawar is expected to take oath as minister in the Maharashtra government at 4 p.m., in the presence of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. According to reports, when Pawar takes the oath of office, the Maharashtra government would have two deputy chief ministers. “Nine NCP MLAs may take the oath. According to reports, Ajit Pawar may share the office of Deputy Chief Minister with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis.
Ajit Pawar is expected to join the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra on Sunday, although it is unclear what positions he would have in the cabinet. According to party sources, Pawar will likely take over as the second deputy chief minister.
According to sources, four Shiv Sena MLAs from the Shinde faction will take the oath alongside NCP officials. The swearing-in event will most likely take place in the Raj Bhavan’s Durbar Hall at some point.
Previously, the meeting was scheduled for July 6 in the presence of NCP president Sharad Pawar, who is now in Pune. Ajit Pawar had also offered to quit as Leader of the Opposition in exchange for an organisational role.
