NCP's Ajit Pawar sworn in as deputy CM in Eknath Shinde-led Maha govt
Mumbai (PTI): Marking a vertical split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), its senior leader Ajit Pawar joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government as deputy chief minister on Sunday.
The presence of NCP president Sharad Pawar and party's working president Supriya Sule at the Opposition meeting in Patna had irked Ajit Pawar and his supporters, sources said.
While Ajit Pawar was sworn in as the deputy chief minister by Governor Ramesh Bais at the ceremony held in the Raj Bhawan, eight other NCP leaders took oath as ministers.
Those who were sworn in as ministers are Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar, who was present in the Raj Bhawan, said Ajit Pawar has resigned as the leader of opposition (LoP) in the Lower House and he has accepted it.
Deputy Speaker Narhari Zirwal and NCP working president Praful Patel were also present in the Raj Bhawan.
Maharashtra BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule claimed 40 MLAs of NCP (out of the total 53) have supported the state government.
Elections to the 288-member state Assembly are due next year.
The political development comes a year after a revolt led by Shinde against the Shiv Sena (then undivided) led to the collapse of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
On June 30, 2022, Shinde sworn in as the CM with Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Devendra Fadnavis as the deputy CM.
BJP's Mumbai unit president and former state minister Ashish Shelar said, "CM Eknath Shinde gave support to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save Hindutva. Today, NCP's major faction led by Ajit Pawar is joining the Shinde and Fadnavis government in a democratic way and extending support to Modiji."
Earlier in the day, Ajit Pawar met some party leaders and MLAs at his official residence 'Devgiri' in Mumbai.
Senior NCP leader Bhujbal and party's working president Supriya Sule were among the leaders present at the meeting. However, Sule left the meeting early.
NCP president Sharad Pawar, who was in Pune, said he was unaware of the meeting.
After the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly polls, the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena snapped ties with long-term ally BJP.
Later, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were sworn in as the chief minister and deputy CM respectively in a hush-hush ceremony at the Raj Bhawan, but their government lasted only 80 hours.
Thackeray subsequently tied-up with the NCP and Congress to form the MVA government.
In June last year, the revolt led by Shinde led to a split in the Shiv Sena and collapse of the MVA government, following which Shinde became the CM with BJP's support.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
