Devendra Fadnavis resigned on Tuesday as the Chief Minister in a dramatic turn of events.
BJP's Devendra Fadnavis today chose to remain tight-lipped on alliance with the Nationalist Congress Party's Ajit Pawar that lasted for just 80 hours before the four-day old BJP government in Maharashtra collapsed on Tuesday. "Sahi waqt pe sahi baat karunga.... chinta mat karo (I will say the right thing at the right time... don't worry)," the 49-year-old BJP leader told reporters this afternoon while replying to a question on whether it was a mistake to forge an alliance with NCP leader Ajit Pawar and form government in the state.
Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Maharashtra Chief Minister for a second term at a controversial ceremony on Saturday morning that suddenly flashed on TV screens. NCP's Ajit Pawar, who had promised him support of his party's 54 MLAs, was sworn in as his deputy.
While NCP chief Sharad Pawar said on Saturday that it was his nephew's "personal decision" to support the NCP, Pawar junior claimed the next day that he had his uncle on board when he decided to support rival BJP.
Sharad Pawar immediately denied the claims, calling his nephew's statements "false and misleading in order to create confusion".
On Tuesday, Ajit Pawar finally resigned as the Deputy Chief Minister hours after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test in Maharashtra within 24 hours and he wasn't able to garner support of his party MLAs.
Devendra Fadnavis's resignation soon followed in a dramatic turn of events as he admitted that he didn't have enough MLAs to clear the half-way mark in the 288 member state assembly.
"We realised that we don't have the required numbers to form the government and we don't want to indulge in horse-trading," Mr Fadnavis told reporters after announcing his decision.
The NCP-Shiv Sena-Congress combine, Maha Vikas Aghadi, is set to form government in the state now with Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray as its Chief Minister. He will take oath tomorrow.
Today, Ajit Pawar returned to the NCP family this morning with a warm hug from cousin Supriya Sule outside the Maharashtra assembly. "There is no question of return, I am with the NCP and have been with NCP," Pawar junior told NDTV as he walked into the assembly for his oath as MLA.