Mumbai, November 23: The Shiv Sena on Saturday said that Ajit Pawar betrayed his uncle and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Sharad Pawar by going with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Maharashtra. In its first reaction to Devendra Fadnavis taking oath as Maharashtra's Chief Minister, the Shiv Sena alleged that the BJP misused Raj Bhawan (Governor's office) to "snatch" power in Maharashtra. Devendra Fadnavis Takes Oath as Maharashtra CM, Ajit Pawar Deputy CM.

"Ajit Pawar has betrayed Sharad Pawar. People will answer the BJP that way it has brought Ajit Pawar in its fold...Devendra Fadmavis's swearing-in is a clear case of misuse of Governor's office by the BJP," Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said. Raut has emerged as the key leader to hold discussions with the NCP and Congress in a bid to form a non-BJP government in Maharashtra. The Shiv Sena leader made sharp remarks on Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. President's Rule in Maharashtra Was Revoked Hours Before Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar's Oath Taking Ceremony.

"I used to believe Maharashtra Governor will abide by the law as he has an RSS background...Holding a swearing-in ceremony in the wee hours doesn't look good in Shivaji Maharaj's Maharashtra," Raut said. He said that Ajit Pawar had stayed with the leaders of Shiv Sena-Nationalist Congress Party and Congress till very late on Friday and everything appeared to be normal.

"We had an inkling of some such developments since Ajit Pawar never looked us in the eye in our series of meetings... Even Sharad Pawar had harboured some doubts when his nephew (Ajit Pawar) had suddenly quit his Assembly seat just before the October elections," Raut said. He added that Sena President Uddhav Thackeray and NCP President Sharad Pawar will hold a meeting later in the day to discuss the issues in detail.

The BJP government which took oath early on Saturday and took everyone by surprise. While Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Chief Minister, Ajit Pawar was sworn-in as his deputy. According to reports, Ajit Pawar was in talks with the BJP through party MP Sunil Tatkare who is close to Pawar junior and he has the support of around half the MLAs with him.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2019 10:17 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).