Ajit Pawar returns for Maharashtra MLAs' oath-taking; welcomed with hug
What's the story
Over a month after the Maharashtra Assembly election results were declared, members of the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were sworn-in on Wednesday. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar, who had caused a stir last week by joining hands with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), returned to his party and was welcomed with a hug from party member Supriya Sule. Here are more details.
Pawar's return
Sule welcomed Ajit Pawar with hug; touched his feet
NCP leader Supriya Sule, who is also party chief Sharad Pawar's daughter, welcomed party MLAs for the oath-taking ceremony. When Ajit Pawar arrived to take oath as an NCP MLA, Sule welcomed him with a hug and touched his feet. To recall, Pawar had taken oath as the Deputy CM on Saturday with Devendra Fadnavis as CM. However, both resigned yesterday after losing majority.
Twitter Post
Here's a clip of Ajit Pawar being welcomed
#WATCH NCP leader Supriya Sule welcomed Ajit Pawar and other newly elected MLAs at #Maharashtra assembly, earlier today. #Mumbai pic.twitter.com/vVyIZfrl1x
— ANI (@ANI) November 27, 2019
Ceremony
Caretaker CM Fadnavis takes oath as MLA
The ceremony to swear-in new MLAs is rare as a Chief Minister is yet to be appointed and lead a government. Reportedly, Shiv Sena's Uddhav Thackeray will be sworn-in as CM on Thursday. Meanwhile, caretaker CM Fadnavis also took oath as an MLA. Notably, presiding officers Babanrao Pachpute and Vijaykumar Gavit were the first ones to take oath as MLAs.
Fadnavis-Pawar govt
But, why did Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar resign?
Four days after swearing-in, Fadnavis and Pawar resigned as CM and Deputy CM respectively on Tuesday after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test. The Fadnavis-Pawar government lacked a majority, with Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress joining hands to form the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance. While announcing his resignation, Fadnavis said the BJP "didn't have the numbers," adding that Pawar resigned for personal reasons.
Information
Fadnavis's resignation decided at BJP's Core Committee meeting yesterday
Shortly after the Supreme Court order, the BJP held a Core Committee meeting on Tuesday. BJP leader Babanrao B Pachpute confirmed it was at this meeting that Fadnavis made the decision to tender his resignation.
CM-elect
Sena-NCP-Congress MLAs unanimously picked Uddhav Thackeray for CM
Meanwhile, the Maha Vikas Aghadi—162 MLAs strong—unanimously proposed Uddhav Thackeray as its CM candidate. "I had never dreamed of leading the state. I would like to thank Sonia Gandhi and others," Thackeray said. Late Tuesday, he met Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan to stake claim to form government. The Deputy CM is yet to be picked, Maharashtra Congress President Balasaheb Thorat announced.
Do you know?
Thackeray will be sworn-in as CM on Thursday
Earlier it was reported that Thackeray will take oath as CM on December 1 at 5 pm. However, the date was advanced and Thackeray will be sworn-in on Thursday at Shivaji Park at 6:40 pm. Separately, Thackeray met the Governor on Wednesday morning.
History
Here's what happened in Maharashtra since elections
To jog your memory, Maharashtra has been in a state of uncertainty for over a month now. The BJP-Sena alliance won a majority in polls, however, the alliance crumbled amid debates over power-sharing. As no party proved majority, President's rule was imposed. Unsatisfied, the Sena-Congress -NCP tried striking a three-party alliance. However, Fadnavis was sworn-in as CM on Saturday with Pawar as his deputy.