Ajit Pawar joins NDA govt, takes oath as deputy CM of Maharashtra

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Congress Party's senior leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday joined Eknath Shinde-led government and was sworn-in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra. The oath ceremony took place on July 2, 2023.

The other MLA who are expected to be sworn-in includes Dilip Walse Patil, Hassan Mushrif, Dharmarao Baba Atram, Aditi Sunil Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode, Anil Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal. The announcement came after Pawar's meeting with some party leaders and MLAs at his official residence in Mumbai.

The meeting assumed significance in the wake of Pawar recent comments stating that he was not keen on continuing as the LoP and wanted to work in the party organisation. Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and party's working president Supriya Sule were among the leaders present at the meeting held at Ajit Pawar's official residence 'Devgiri', while state party president Jayant Patil was not present.