17 Sena MLAs Likely To Revolt Against Uddhav Thackeray, Some In Touch With BJP: Sources

Hours after BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister of Maharashtra, seventeen Shiv Sena lawmakers are likely to revolt against party supremo Uddhav Thackeray. Sone of the MLAs are already in touch with the BJP, according to sources. The month-long political impasse in Maharashtra ended dramatically on Saturday with Devendra Fadnavis returning as the chief minister, backed by the Sharad Pawar-led NCP.

NCP’s Ajit Pawar was sworn-in as the deputy chief minister.

Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath at the Raj Bhavan here at around 7.30 am.

Blaming the Shiv Sena for disrespecting the people’s mandate in last month’s Assembly polls, Fadnavis said, “People had given us a clear mandate, but Shiv Sena tried to ally with other parties after the results, after which the President’s rule was imposed. Maharashtra needed a stable government, not a ‘khichdi’ government.”

“I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party president Amit Shah and J P Nadda for giving me the chance to serve people once again,” the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader added.

Ajit Pawar backed the BJP and with the support of Independent lawmakers and smaller parties, the saffron party decided to stake claim to form the government, he said.

It was only on Friday evening that Sharad Pawar had said the new government would be led by Uddhav Thackeray, which signalled the end of speculation on who would occupy the chief minister’s post. The three parties had even prepared a draft common minimum programme (CMP) to guide the actions of the new government.

However, after the oath-taking ceremony was held early on Saturday, Sharad Pawar tweeted: “Ajit Pawar’s decision to support the BJP to form the Maharashtra Government is his personal decision and not that of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). We place on record that we do not support or endorse this decision of his.”