Ajit Pawar's Maha switch: How NCP neta has given the state 2 deputy CMs

Maharashtra politics is all shook up. Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) Ajit Pawar was sworn in as deputy chief minister of the state on Sunday. He, along with eight party legislators, joined the state government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. The 63-year-old former Opposition leader will share the post with BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis. The political developments of Sunday involving Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar has ensured Maharashtra has two deputy chief ministers for the first time. Ajit Pawar was sworn in as deputy CM for the fifth time, while eight of his colleagues were inducted as ministers in the Eknath Shinde government. [caption id=“attachment_12816322” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] The political developments of Sunday involving Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar has ensured Maharashtra has two deputy chief ministers for the first time. PTI[/caption] In the same way, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde formed a government on 30 June with the backing of the Bharatiya Janata Party, whose senior leader Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as deputy CM. Five-time deputy CM Ajit Pawar has been deputy CM between 11 November 2010 and 25 September 2012, then again from 7 December 2012 and 28 September, 2014. He was then sworn in as deputy CM between 23 and 26 November in 2019 for a period of less than 80 hours when he joined hands with Devendra Fadnavis post the Assembly polls and break up of the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance. He returned to the NCP and was deputy CM in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government between 30 December 2019 and 29 June 2022. **Also Read: Ajit Pawar sworn in as Maharashtra deputy CM: The rise of Sharad Pawar's nephew** Senior Congress leader Ratnakar Mahajan said the deputy CM post was created in Maharashtra for the first time when the state had a Congress (Organisation/Old Congress) and Congress (Indira) government. Vasantdada Patil was chief minister from Congress (O) and Nasikrao Tirpude was the state’s first deputy CM from 5 March 1978 to 18 July that year. Sundarrao Solanke was deputy chief minister in the PDF government headed by Sharad Pawar between 1978 and 1980, while Ramrao Adik was deputy CM in the Vasantdada Patil government from 1983 to 1985. Gopinath Munde was deputy chief minister from 1995 -99 in the Shiv Sena-BJP government. Others who were deputy CM of the state were NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal (1999-2003 and then again from 2008 to 2010), Vijaysinh Mohite Patil (2003-2004) and RR Patil from 2004 to 2008. With inputs from PTI Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News, India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.