Moments after joining the Eknath Shinde government, Maharashtra's latest deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar spoke to media about his decision and praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi's leadership. "Country is moving ahead under PM Modi. He is quite popular and receives support even in abroad," Pawar said outside Raj Bhawan where the swearing-in ceremony is taking place.
"If we can go with Shiv Sena to form government then why not with BJP," he asked. "Overall and comprehensive development was taken into account. We have a vast experience of the administration, we can utilise it for the good." he added.
In a significant development, Pawar along with a pool of MLAs became a part of the Eknath Shine-led Shiv Sena-BJP government. Eight MLAs of the party took oath as Shinde's ministers earlier in the day.
Maintaining that there was no split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), he said they would contest all future elections on the NCP's name and symbol.
All the elected representatives (of the party) have supported the decision to join the government, Pawar said. The cabinet portfolios will be announced in a couple of days and we will immediately start working on it, Pawar said.
