Editor's Pick: Ajit Pawar splits NCP, returns as Deputy CM of Maharashtra

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) in Maharashtra on Sunday afternoon, causing a split in his party. He claimed that he had the support of all MLAs of his party, but his uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar clarified that he did not back the move. Mr. Ajit Pawar took the oath as the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday for the fifth time, setting the record for the largest number of appointments to this position since it was created in 1978. He will share the post with Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis, who reportedly exercises immense control over the Cabinet. Along with Mr. Pawar, eight NCP legislators were also inducted as ministers into the Maharashtra Cabinet. These include Chhagan Bhujbal, the NCP chief’s close confidant Dilip Walse-Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aatram Dharamraobaba Bhagwantrao, the late BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s nephew Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, and Anil Patil. Reacting to the situation, Mr. Sharad Pawar said, “This may be new for some but not for me. My aim will be to repeat the scene of 1980 where except for six of his 58 MLAs, all had deserted me, but I rebuilt the party from scratch by touring Maharashtra; and I will be touring the State again.” Mr. Ajit Pawar said that the NCP joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government for the sake of the country’s development, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. This is not the first time when Mr. Ajit Pawar has sided with the BJP to fulfil his personal political ambitions. In 2019, he had joined hands with Mr. Fadnavis to form an alliance in Maharashtra. However, the government lasted for just three days and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the Chief Minister with the support of the NCP and the Congress. Meanwhile, at a late-night press conference on Sunday, NCP announced that they have moved a disqualification petition to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar against the nine MLAs who were sworn in as ministers in the Shinde-Fadnavis government, including Mr. Ajit Pawar. The Hindu’s Editorials Making disability count: On why NFHS will yield more robust data on the disability sector White against green: On the allure of Wimbledon The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which country became the 27th signatory to the Artemis Accords recently? Japan India Ukraine Rwanda To know the answer and play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 03 July 2023 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Ajit Pawar splits NCP, returns as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader [Ajit Pawar joined hands with the National Democratic Alliance]( (NDA) in Maharashtra on Sunday afternoon, causing a split in his party. He claimed that he had the support of all MLAs of his party, but his uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar clarified that he did not back the move. Mr. Ajit Pawar took the oath as the Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister on Sunday for the fifth time, setting the record for the largest number of appointments to this position since it was created in 1978. He will share the post with Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Devendra Fadnavis, who reportedly exercises immense control over the Cabinet. Along with Mr. Pawar, eight NCP legislators were also inducted as ministers into the Maharashtra Cabinet. These include Chhagan Bhujbal, the NCP chief’s close confidant Dilip Walse-Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Aatram Dharamraobaba Bhagwantrao, the late BJP leader Gopinath Munde’s nephew Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, and Anil Patil. Reacting to the situation, Mr. Sharad Pawar said, “This may be new for some but not for me. My aim will be to repeat the scene of 1980 where except for six of his 58 MLAs, all had deserted me, but I rebuilt the party from scratch by touring Maharashtra; and I will be touring the State again.” Mr. Ajit Pawar said that the NCP joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government for the sake of the country’s development, and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.  This is not the first time when Mr. Ajit Pawar has sided with the BJP to fulfil his personal political ambitions. [In 2019, he had joined hands with Mr. Fadnavis]( to form an alliance in Maharashtra. However, the government lasted for just three days and Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the Chief Minister with the support of the NCP and the Congress. Meanwhile, at a late-night press conference on Sunday, NCP announced that they have moved a[ disqualification petition]( to Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar against the nine MLAs who were sworn in as ministers in the Shinde-Fadnavis government, including Mr. Ajit Pawar. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Making disability count: On why NFHS will yield more robust data on the disability sector]( [Arrow][White against green: On the allure of WimbledonÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Which country became the 27th signatory to the Artemis Accords recently? - Japan - India - Ukraine - Rwanda To know the answer and play the full quiz, [click here](. 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