Ajit Pawar was earlier sworn in as deputy chief minister in the Eknath Shinde government, while eight others, including Walse Patil and Bhujbal, were made ministers, the developments coming after a vertical split in the NCP.
On Friday, Ajit caused a flutter in the party when he sent his resignation as the MLA from Baramati segment to Legislative Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagade, which has been accepted.
It is not clear how much money the government will transfer into the bank accounts of women in Maharashtra.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti alliance ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. The BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party. Governor P C Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the ceremony held in Nagpur. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present.
The Congress, which has 37 MLAs, had fixed a quota of 30 first preference votes for its candidate Satav, and seven remaining votes were to go to its ally Sena (UBT)'s nominee Narvekar, party sources said. Eventually, Satav got 25 and Narvekar 22 first preference votes, which meant at least seven Congress MLAs cross-voted.
The respect for the four-time former chief minister, often referred to as Saheb, in his stronghold of western Maharashtra is palpable in much of the region. But his estranged nephew also appears to enjoy a stature of his own in Baramati, a constituency represented by the senior Pawar for six terms before he passed the baton to Ajit Pawar in 1991.
Beleaguered Maharashtra minister Dhananjay Munde resigned from the cabinet on Tuesday, days after his close aide Walmik Karad was named as the mastermind in the murder of a village sarpanch and three months after the new Mahayuti government assumed office.
Hinting at sabotage in Mantralaya blaze, Shiv Sena executive president Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday said senior Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar "showed courage" to step down as deputy chief minister of Maharashtra only after files pertaining to various scams gutted in the fire.
Sudhakar Badgujar, the leader in question, denied the allegations while speaking at a news conference in Nashik.
The NCP supremo, who was at the receiving end of his nephew's move during the day, had, 45 years ago, split the Congress and walked out with 40 MLAs, leading to the collapse of the Vasantdada Patil government.
Ratan Tata is Maharashtra's first Udyog Ratna.
The Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray on Tuesday fielded Milind Narvekar, a close aide of party chief Uddhav Thackeray, in the biennial elections to 11 seats from the legislative council, taking the number of candidates in the fray to 12.
"We had taken signatures from MLAs for attendance, it was misused as a basis for the oath," said the senior NCP leader.
Patil, who heads the Maharashtra NCP unit, also scotched speculation that he was set to join the Ajit Pawar-led group in the Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party government.
Maharashtra Agriculture Minister Manikrao Kokate is under fire after a video surfaced allegedly showing him playing rummy on his phone during a legislative session. The opposition accuses the government of being insensitive to farmers' issues.
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra assembly Vijay Wadettiwar on Saturday claimed that there will be major changes in the state government, including the 'main seat', in the coming weeks.
The assembly polls were fought under Eknath Shinde's leadership and it is now up to the Bharatiya Janata Party's central leadership to decide on how to maintain his stature, the caretaker Maharashtra chief minister's aide and former state minister Deepak Kesarkar said on Monday.
'Where would a person living in the forest for 14 years go to find vegetarian food? Is it correct or not (question to the public)? Tell me when I am telling the truth'
The Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party has issued a whip to all MLAs asking them to remain present for a key meeting in Mumbai on Wednesday, while the rival group headed by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has also called a separate meeting of party legislators in Mumbai.
'That was my mistake.' 'Gautam Adani was not involved in forming the Maharashtra government.' 'Adani was not there in the meeting.' 'The meeting was at his guest house and we were sitting in his guest house.'
The Nationalist Congress Party leader was speaking in the assembly on a resolution moved by Speaker Rahul Narvekar urging the government to formulate a new women's policy.
'If all of us (all the 57 Shiv Sena MLAs) stand together we can change the dynamic. We are not afraid of anyone.'
Maharashtra's caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who took ill at his native village in Satara district, is recovering and will return to Mumbai on Sunday evening, an associate said.
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president Sharad Pawar on Thursday said his decision to step down from the post was taken for the future of the party and to create a new leadership.
"The committee has unanimously passed a resolution. It unanimously rejects his decision to step down and urges him to continue as party president," Patel said after a meeting of the committee.
Nationalist Congress Party president Sharad Pawar might have discussed with Prime Minister Narendra Modi the delay in the appointment of 12 members to the state Legislative Council from the Governor's quota, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said on Wednesday.
The Centre on Wednesday accorded Z plus -- the highest category of armed VIP security cover -- to Pawar, official sources had said.
Maharashtra minister Chhagan Bhujbal, belonging to the Nationalist Congress Party's Ajit Pawar camp, on Wednesday said they took the decision of joining the Eknath Shinde-Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra after 'proper consideration'.
'If the situation arises, the committee will decide on Pawar's successor and the decision will be unanimous'
The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has expelled a local leader and his son after they were named in a dowry harassment and abetment to suicide case in Pune, India. The victim, Vaishnavi, allegedly hanged herself on May 16 after facing harassment from her in-laws for dowry. The police have arrested her husband, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law, while the father-in-law and brother-in-law are absconding. The case has garnered attention due to the involvement of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who attended the couple's wedding and gifted them an SUV.
The Nationalist Congress Party has claimed all the 28 Congress corporators in Malegaon city in Maharashtra's Nashik district, including the mayor, crossed over to the party on Thursday.
Rohit Pawar further claimed "four-five" leaders around Ajit Pawar were trying to project the latter as the "villain" and putting all the blame for the party's split on him.
The swearing-in of Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and several of his colleagues as deputy chief minister and ministers, respectively, on Saturday has meant Maharashtra has seen four oath-taking ceremonies in as many years at its stately Raj Bhavan.
An unknown person sent a letter to his office in Nashik informing him about a contract to kill him.
In a veiled attack on ally Congress in Maharashtra, Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday said the allegations of irregularities raised against him were aimed at diverting public attention from the coal-gate scam.
The remarks by Sibal, a noted advocate, came after Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar and eight others were inducted into the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah held discussions for seat sharing in Maharashtra for the upcoming Lok Sabha elections with coalition partners Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party president Ajit Pawar.
The NCP chief admitted that some MLAs had written to him on joining the Shinde-led government when the one led by the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) collapsed following a split in the Shiv Sena. "But no decision was taken," he said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan on Saturday said that resignation of his deputy Ajit Pawar from the state ministry will not affect the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party ties.
NCP leaders including, Praful Patel, Chhagan Bhujbal and Ajit Pawar were present at the Bada Qabrastan during the last rites of Baba Siddique.
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