Ajit Pawar resigns: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar has resigned from the post of Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra, just three days after he took oath in a dramatic early morning swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhawan in Mumbai. Pawar handed over his resignation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis after an hour-long meeting with him. Fadnavis expected to address a press conference at 3:30 PM.
Ajit Pawar’s resignation came just hours after the Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that there would be a floor test in Maharashtra Assembly on Wednesday.
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Pawar had joined hands with the BJP claiming support of all 54 NCP MLAs. The BJP has 105 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly. Ajit Pawar’s decision to switch sides was opposed by his uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar. The senior Pawar has said that it was Ajit’s personal decision which was not supported by the NCP.
Ajit Pawar was removed as NCP’s legislature unit head on Saturday evening, hours after the took oath along with Fadnavis who returned as CM.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court directed Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to appoint a pro-tem speaker and ensure that all elected members of the House are sworn in on Wednesday following which a floor test will have to be conducted. The apex court said that the entire exercise will be telecast live and no secret ballot will be allowed.
“In the present case, oath has not been administered to the newly elected MLAs…In the present scenario to avoid horse trading it is necessary to have a floor test to determine the majority in the house,” the Supreme Court said in its order which was seen a setback for the BJP which has been claiming that it has the numbers to prove majority in the 288-member Maharashtra Assembly.