Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, leading the rebel faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), on October 10 asserted himself as national president of the party founded by his uncle Sharad Pawar.
He defended his decision to join the Maharashtra government led by Shiv Sena leader and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, and BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis, citing several examples of prominent politicians who took a “different stand” in the State’s political history.
Mr. Ajit Pawar, who became Deputy CM for the fifth time, set a record for the largest number of appointments to this position since it was created in 1978, by joining hands with the National Democratic Alliance on July 2. On Tuesday, he marked his 100th day in office.
