Mumbai, November 23: In a dramatic development in Maharashtra on Saturday morning, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was sworn-in for a second term, with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar taking oath as his deputy. Reacting to the development which stunned even political insiders, netizens unearthed an old tweet of Devendra Fadnavis asserting that the BJP would never align with the NCP. Devendra Fadnavis Takes Oath as Maharashtra CM, Ajit Pawar Deputy CM.

"BJP will never, never, never have any alliance with NCP. Rumours are motivated. We exposed their corruption in assembly. Others were silent," Devendra Fadnavis had tweeted in September 2014. Twitterati also accused Fadnavis and the BJP of taking a U-tun on Ajit Pawar against whom they ran a campaign alleging corruption. Ajit Pawar was targetted by BJP leaders in connection with an irrigation scam in Maharashtra. Ajit Pawar Betrayed Sharad Pawar, BJP Misused Governor's Office: Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut.

Devendra Fadnavis's Old Tweet:

"Dear @Dev_Fadnavis, you ran a campaign against @AjitPawarSpeaks and NCP on irrigation scam. Now you are allying with him. Did you dump your so-called morality and anti-corruption plank? Is this not hypocrisy?" a verified Twitter user wrote. NCP chief Sharad Pawar has said that his nephew Ajit Pawar's move to form a government with the BJP was "his personal decision and not of the NCP". President's Rule in Maharashtra Was Revoked Hours Before Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar's Oath Taking Ceremony.

"We place on record that we do not support or endorse this decision of his," Sharad Pawar said, indicating a vertical split in the NCP, though the complete details are yet to emerge. NCP state president Jayant Patil said that Ajit Pawar had expressed even late on Friday that "the discussions were dragging on for too long". In its reaction, the Shiv Sena said that Ajit Pawar backstabbed Sharad Pawar and the BJP "misused" Governor's office.

The BJP emerged as the single largest party winning 105 seats, and along with its longtime ally, Shiv Sena was in a comfortable position to form a government. The Shiv Sena, however, with 56 legislators, refused to join the BJP in forming a government, insisting on rotational chief ministership. The Shiv Sena had since been trying to form a government with the help of the NCP and Congress, which had won 54 and 44 seats respectively.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 23, 2019 11:02 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).