A light-hearted interaction between Maharashtra’s caretaker Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar brought moments of laughter among party leaders during a press conference on Wednesday. The event followed a meeting where BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis, Shinde, and Pawar staked their claim to form the state government.
When a journalist asked if Shinde and Pawar would be sworn in as deputy chief ministers at Azad Maidan, Shinde responded, “Let’s wait till evening. The oath ceremony is tomorrow.” Pawar humorously interjected, saying, “Inka to shaam tak pata chalega. Main to shapat le raha hoon. He (Shinde) will figure it out by evening. I’m the one taking the oath.”
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The remark elicited laughter, but Shinde promptly replied, “Dada (Ajit Pawar) ko anubhav hai subah ko bhi lene ka aur shaam ko bhi. Ajit Pawar has the experience of taking the oath both in the morning and evening.”
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Pawar added in Marathi, referencing the 2019 political episode when he and Fadnavis were sworn in during a pre-dawn ceremony at Raj Bhavan but failed to sustain the government. He assured this time they were committed to completing the full five-year term.
The banter harked back to the dramatic 80-hour government in 2019, where Pawar, then part of the united NCP, failed to secure enough support to align with the BJP. This led to the formation of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress coalition, with Uddhav Thackeray as Chief Minister and Pawar as Deputy Chief Minister.
