President’s Rule Revoked At 5:47 AM In Maharashtra

With Devendra Fadnavis and NCP’s Ajit Pawar taking oath as Maharashtra chief minister and deputy chief minister, the President’s rule in the state has finally come to an end. However, President’s rule in Maharashtra was formally revoked on Saturday early morning at 5:47 AM with the consent of President Ram Nath Kovind.

The notification issued by President Ram Nath Kovind’s office said, “In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of article 356 of the Constitution, I, Ram Nath Kovind, President of India hereby revoke the Proclamation issued by me under the said article on the 12th day of November, 2019, in relation to the State of Maharashtra with effect from the 23rd day of November, 2019.”

Hours after the President’s rule was revoked, BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister while NCP’s Ajit Pawar sworn in as deputy chief minister at Raj Bhavan in Mumbai. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, and other BJP leaders congratulated Fadnavis and Pawar.

In the meantime, NCP Chief Sharad Pawar said, "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."

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.

— Sharad Pawar (@PawarSpeaks) November 23, 2019

This comes at a time when deliberations between the Congress, the NCP and Shiv Sena to form a government in Maharashtra reached the final stage on Friday and the three parties inched closer to announce an alliance.

Also Read: Maharashtra LIVE: BJP, NCP Alliance Outwit Shiv Sena, Fadnavis Back As CM

The BJP, which emerged as the single largest party in the state elections last month, could not earlier stake claim to form a government after it could not reach an agreement with its former ally Shiv Sena on its "50:50" demand. The BJP won 105 seats in the 288-member assembly followed by the Shiv Sena (56). The NCP won 54 seats and the Congress had won 44 seats.

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