Ajit Pawar will stay away from govt for time being

Mumbai: Despite the insistence of his supporters, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) did not include former rebel leader Ajit Pawar in the state council of ministers. Ajit Pawar himself made it clear that he would not be a minister.

“I will not take oath. Only Chhagan Bhujbal and Jayant Patil will take oath as ministers from the NCP,” Mr Pawar said after a meeting of NCP leaders at party chief Sharad Pawar’s residence.

Ajit Pawar also dismissed reports that he was disappointed over not being sworn-in as the deputy chief minister on Thursday. “I am not at all disappointed. Do you see disappointment on my face?” he asked.

The former deputy chief minister also refuted reports about his ‘revolt.’ Ajit Pawar joined had hands with the BJP to form a government last Saturday, but quit it earlier this week, citing ‘personal reasons,’ leading to collapse of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government.

“It was not a revolt. I was in the NCP, I am in the NCP and will remain in the NCP,” he said, adding that he would attend the swearing-in ceremony in the evening with his cousin and Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule.

There were speculations over the next move by Ajit Pawar after he had returned to the NCP by resigning from the BJP government. Despite his rebellion, several of his supporter MLAs had demanded that he should be given the deputy CM’s post in the Uddhav Thackeray-led government.