New Delhi:
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will take oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra, while NCP leader Jayant Patil and Congress MLA Balasaheb Thorat are likely to sworn-in as deputy chief ministers on Wednesday, said sources. The development comes soon after Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday said he is resigning after his government lost majority following Deputy CM Ajit Pawar quitting his post.
Ajit Pawar had supported BJP as leader of the 54-member NCP legislature party and with his resignation earlier in the day, the government has lost majority, he said.
"We don't have majority after Ajit Pawar's resignation as Dy CM," Fadnavis said. "I will be submitting my resignation to the governor after this media briefing," he said.
Fadnavis says the BJP will become the voice of the people as a responsible opposition. "We won't indulge in horse- trading," he added.
Asked if he thought Ajit Pawar extending support to the BJP was a strategy of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Fadnavis said: "Sharad Pawar will be able to comment on this issue".
"Ajit Pawar told me he was quitting due to personal reasons," Fadnavis said.
Maharashtra Assembly poll mandate was more for BJP than Shiv Sena, Fadnavis said.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said he has requested Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari to invite the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance led by Uddhav Thackeray to form government. Chavan welcomed the decision by Fadnavis to step down as the chief minister.
