Congress leaders react to the developments in Maharashtra

Congress leader Ahmed Patel on Saturday called the early-morning swearing-in of the BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis as Chief Minister and NCP’s Ajit Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra an “illegitimate formation” that would “self-destruct”.

The Congress was in for a surprise when, after negotiations between the three allies till late in the night, Mr Pawar joined hands with the BJP. The three sides were scheduled to meet on Saturday to tie up the last remaining loose ends. Mr Patel, along with general secretary in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, was holding the negotiations on behalf of the Congress.

“Illegal and evil manoeuvres take place in the secrecy of midnight. Such was the shame that they had to do the swearing-in in hiding. This illegitimate formation will self-destruct,” Mr Patel said in a tweet.

A candid admission of the Congress’s cluelessness was made by party spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi. “Surreal, what I read about Maharashtra. Thought it was fake news,” he said, within minutes of the announcement. He added that his personal view was that the tripartite negotiations should not have gone on for more than three days.

Congress communication in-charge Randeep Surjewala called it a blatant betrayal of the mandate.