03 July,2023 01:42 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Ajit Pawar after taking oath as deputy CM of Maharashtra on Sunday. File Pic/Shadab Khan
A day after joining the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and state minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday met Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. The meeting was to discuss allocation of portfolios in the cabinet, sources said, reported the PTI.
On Sunday, Ajit Pawar led a vertical split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) to become the deputy chief minister. Eight other NCP leaders were also sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.
Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and a few other NCP leaders reached Meghdoot bungalow (official residence of Devendra Fadnavis). They will discuss the distribution of cabinet portfolios," a source close to Ajit Pawar said, according to the PTI.
In the past, Ajit Pawar held portfolios such as water resources department, power and finance.
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Currently, all the three portfolios are with Devendra Fadnavis, who also holds charge of the state home department.
Meanwhile, after Ajit Pawar joined the Shinde-led government, several Maharashtra leaders have made claims regarding Pawar's move.
Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan on Monday claimed he has information that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has promised Ajit Pawar the post of Maharashtra chief minister, according to the PTI.
With Ajit Pawar's move to join the ruling Eknath Shinde-BJP coalition on Sunday changing political dynamics in Maharashtra, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut also claimed that Shinde will lose the CM's post.
To a query, Chavan while speaking to reporters in Karad said, "I had spoken about it (that Ajit Pawar may go with BJP) publicly but I faced criticism."
The Congress leader said he knew this was happening.
"Just bargaining was going on over what he (Ajit) should be getting. As per our information, he has been given a promise of chief minister's post by pushing Eknath Shinde aside with the help of Assembly speaker's decision (on disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs)," the former Maharashtra CM claimed.
Chavan was at 'Pritisangam', the memorial of Maharashtra's first CM Yashwantrao Chavan.
Prithviraj Chavan said, "He (Sharad Pawar) is one of the constituents of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and I am here to extend support to him."
"Pawar Saheb is standing strong behind the opposition unity at the national level and he is going to attend the opposition meet in Bengaluru," he added.
The Congress leader also told PTI that if the MVA had stayed united and strong, the BJP-Eknath Shinde alliance would have had no chance in elections due to the "sympathy factor" for former CM Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress and NCP coming together with him.
The Lok Sabha and Maharashtra Assembly elections are due next year.
(with PTI inputs)
