Maha political impasse ends with surprise; Fadnavis CM, NCP's Ajit Pawar his deputy

Mumbai:After a month long political deadlock in the state of Maharashtra, Bhartiya Janata Party's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the 19th Chief Minister of the state for a second term on Saturday morning while National Conference Party's Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy CM.

The oath was administered by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, here at the Raj Bhawan.

The surprising move comes a day after NCP President Sharad Pawar indicated that a consensus has been evolved on Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray for the top post.

After taking oath of Chief Minister, Mr. Fadnavis said that before the assembly elections in Maharashtra, we had an alliance with the Shiv Sena, but after the election, Shiv Sena was trying to break our alliance and form a government with Congress and NCP. "I would like to express my gratitude to NCP's Ajit Pawar ji, he took this decision to give a stable government to Maharashtra & come together with BJP. Some other leaders also came with us and we staked claim to form government.", he said.

Ajit Pawar, after administering oath as Deputy CM, said that NCP was in talks with the Congress and Shiv Sena for the last several days but due to the negotiations not coming to any conclusion and he ended up forming a government with the BJP to end the President's rule in Maharashtra.

Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Mr Fadnavis. "Congratulations to Devendra Fadnavis Ji and Ajit Pawar Ji on taking oath as the CM and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively. I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra", he said in a tweet.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah also congratulated the new Maharashtra dispensation. In a tweet he said that he is confident that this government will be continuously committed to the development and welfare of Maharashtra and will set new standards of progress in the state.(UNI)