india

Updated: Jul 30, 2020 02:49 IST

Just four days after Supriya Sule broke the news of a split in the Pawar family and Nationalist Congress Party following her cousin Ajit Pawar’s stunning move to support the BJP, she welcomed him with a big hug and warm smile on Wednesday.

Supriya Sule, the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, was welcoming the newly-elected members, who took the oath, when she greeted Ajit Pawar at the entrance of the Maharashtra assembly.

The NCP’s member of Parliament had put out a message on WhatsApp last Saturday after the massive political twist as Ajit Pawar backed the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis to form the government in Maharashtra.

“Who do you trust in life..never felt so cheated in my life. Defended him loved him..look what I get in return (sic),” she had posted.

Hours before that, the NCP had been in talks with the Shiv Sena along with the Congress to form an alliance. However, Ajit Pawar resigned on Tuesday, nearly 80 hours after he took oath as the deputy chief minister.

“I never left the party. I was with the NCP, I am with the NCP and will remain with the NCP. Media has misreported about me in the last few days and I will react to it at an appropriate time,” Ajit Pawar said outside Vidhan Bhavan where he arrived to be sworn in as an MLA on Wednesday.

Sule also met former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also resigned from his post on Tuesday, with folded hands, touched him on the shoulder as he proceeded with a smile.

The political impasse in the state had prevented the newly-elected members from taking an oath even more than a month after the results of the assembly elections were announced on October 24.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Koshyari to appoint a pro-tem speaker and ensure all elected members of the House are sworn in on Wednesday itself by 5pm for a floor test for Fadnavis.

The top court’s direction came on a petition by the Shiv Sena, NCP and the Congress.

The three parties had approached the top court on Saturday amid the tug-of-war for power.

Maharashtra was briefly placed under President’s rule from November 12 to November 23 when it was lifted early morning ahead of BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis taking oath as chief minister for a second term. The NCP’s Ajit Pawar was also sworn in as deputy chief minister.

But by Tuesday afternoon, the BJP-led government had collapsed after Ajit Pawar resigned. Chief minister Fadnavis followed suit shortly afterwards, saying the BJP lacks the numbers to form the government without the NCP’s support.

The BJP had earlier claimed that Ajit Pawar had the backing of all the 54 NCP MLAs.

The fast-paced developments on Tuesday paved the way for the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’ of the Sena, the NCP and the Congress to stake claim to form the government under the leadership of Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray.

Thackeray will be sworn in as chief minister on Thursday.