Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as the deputy chief minister on Sunday. He will share the post with BJP's Devendra Fadnavis.
Pawar took oath in a ceremony in Raj Bhawan.
Eight NCP leaders were sworn in as ministers: Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode.
Out of the total 53 NCP MLAs in the state, 40 are with Pawar, Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who was present in the Raj Bhawan, said Ajit Pawar has resigned as the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lower House and that he has accepted it.
Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal and NCP working president Praful Patel were also present in the Raj Bhawan.
Ajit Pawar defended his decision to share power with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"If we can go with the Shiv Sena, then we can go with the BJP as well. The same thing happened in Nagaland as well. Overall and comprehensive development was taken into account. We have a vast experience of the administration, we can utilise it for the good," he said.
The cabinet portfolios will be announced in a couple of days and we will immediately start working on it, he added.
Ajit Pawar recently had said he was not keen on continuing as the LoP in the Assembly and that he wanted to work in the party organisation.
Earlier today, Pawar met some party leaders and MLAs at his official residence in Mumbai. NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal and party's working president Supriya Sule were among the leaders present at the meeting. However, NCP president Sharad Pawar, who was in Pune, said he was unaware of the meet, but added that Ajit Pawar, as leader of opposition in the Assembly, can call a meeting of legislators.
Elections to the 288-member state Assembly are due next year.
After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena snapped ties with long-term ally BJP.
Later, Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as the chief minister and deputy CM respectively in a hush-hush ceremony at the Raj Bhawan, but their government lasted only 80 hours.
Thackeray subsequently tied-up with the NCP and Congress to form the MVA government.
In June last year, a revolt led by Eknath Shinde led to a split in the Shiv Sena and the collapse of the MVA government, following which Shinde became the CM with the BJP's support. Devendra Fadnavis became the deputy CM.
Reactions pour in over political developments in state:
Eknath Shinde: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said Maharashtra will now sprint forward with one chief minister and two deputy chief ministers.
"Politics of development is being backed by a man of development. When a deserving party worker gets a secondary role, such things happen," Shinde said.
"Now the double engine government has a triple engine. The state will sprint (on the path of development). Now we have one CM and two deputy chief ministers. This will help faster development of the state," he told reporters.
Sharad Pawar: NCP chief Sharad Pawar said it was not the party's decision to go with BJP-Shiv Sena.
"I am not bothered that people have left, but I am worried for their future Those (leaders) who violated party line and took the oath (as ministers), a decision has to be taken on them," he said.
Sharad Pawar tried to put up a brave face, saying such things (rebellion in a party) are not new for him.
Sanjay Raut: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut said people of Maharashtra will not tolerate such a "circus", an apparent reference to government formation through vertical splits in political parties, for long.
"Some people seem to be determined to completely spoil Maharashtra's politics. Let them proceed on their chosen path," said Raut, in an apparent reference to Ajit Pawar, CM Shinde and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
In a tweet, Raut said, "I just spoke with NCP Sharad Pawar. He said he is firm and people's support is behind us. We can make a fresh start with Uddhav Thackeray." He added that Nationalist Congress Party supremo Sharad Pawar is undeterred by the split in his party and can start afresh.
Jairam Ramesh: Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said, "Clearly the BJP's Washing Machine has resumed its operations. A number of new entrants into the BJP-led alliance in Maharashtra today had been facing serious corruption charges with ED, CBI and Income Tax authorities after them. Now they have all got a clean chit."
The Congress will intensify its efforts to free Maharashtra from the clutches of the BJP, Ramesh asserted.
The Congress is part of the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance comprising itself, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray) and the NCP.
(With PTI inputs)