Ajit Pawar Resigns as Maharashtra Deputy CM, Devendra Fadnavis May Follow

Mumbai, November 26: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) rebel Ajit Pawar has reportedly stepped down as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. Ajit Pawar has submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. According to reports, Devendra Fadnavis may also resign. Ajit Pawar's resignation comes hours after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test in Maharashtra assembly for tomorrow. Maharashtra Power Tussle: NCP, Shiv Sena, Congress Show Unity, Sharad Pawar Says 'Will Bring More Than 162 MLAs During Floor Test'.

CM Fadnavis has called a press conference at 3:30 pm today. According to reports, he will announce his resignation at the press conference. Reacting to reports of Ajit Pawar's resignation, NCP leader Jayant Patil said that he had no knowledge about it. "It's you from whom I have come to know about the resignation of Ajit Pawar. I don't know about it, I would like to make a comment on it only after getting to know everything about it," Patil told reporters.

Earlier today, the Supreme Court passed an interim order to conduct a floor test in the Maharashtra assembly on Wednesday. The apex court gave its verdict on a joint petition filed by Congress-NCP-Shiv Sena against the decision of Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to invite the BJP to form a government.

In a stunning turn of events, Fadnavis on November 23 returned as chief minister propped up by Ajit Pawar, who was made his deputy, just hours after the new alliance of Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress reached a consensus that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray will be their chief ministerial candidate.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 26, 2019 02:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).