Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar has claimed that his party does not support Ajit Pawar's decision to form government in Maharashtra with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
An hour after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar was sworn-in as his deputy, Sharad Pawar tweeted to say that his party "does not support or endorse this decision of his."
He added that Ajit Pawar's decision to support BJP is his personal choice and not of the party as a whole.
"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," read Pawar's tweet, which he also posted in Marathi.
Pawar has also called an urgent meeting of senior NCP leaders to discuss the situation.
In a dramatic turn of events, BJP, with the help of Ajit Pawar, formed government in Maharashtra ending the month-long political crisis pertaining to the state. Sources claim that Ajit Pawar has the support of 22 MLAs.
Earlier, it was reported that Sharad Pawar was a part of the meeting wherein it was decided that Fadnavis would lead Maharashtra and the NCP supremo himself gave his assent to Ajit Pawar, his nephew, to form a government with BJP. However, now, things seem to be a bit unclear after Pawar said that he doesn't endorse Ajit Pawar's decision to form government with BJP.
Meanwhile, senior Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut accused Ajit Pawar of "backstabbing the people of Maharashtra" and stated that Sharad Pawar has nothing to do with the development.
"Uddhav Thackeray and Sharad Pawar are in touch and will meet today. They might also address the media together. But the fact is that Ajit Pawar and the MLAs supporting him have insulted Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and Maharashtra," Raut said at a press conference.