Ajit Pawar to be deputy chief minister in Uddhav government

Mumbai, Dec 24: NCP chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar could make a comeback as a deputy chief minister in the Maha Vikas Aghadi in Maharashtra.

Pawar is likely to take oath on December 30, this time as part of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would soon take decision on cabinet expansion.

The 60-year-old had been sworn in along with the BJP's Devendra Fadnavis in a surprise early morning ceremony. That arrangement lasted only 80 hours as Ajit Pawar failed to bring in more NCP MLAs to sustain the coup. He resigned and returned to the NCP fold.

The development comes a day after Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and NCP president Sharad Pawar held discussions for nearly one hour at the Sahyadri Guest House on Monday.

Amid a deadlock over government formation after Assembly elections, Ajit had sprung a surprise and joined BJP-led government as deputy chief minister last month, but the government lasted for only 80 hours.

"We are running an alliance government and we have already made allotment of portfolios. The chief minister may announce expansion afterthe winter session of Assembly (which ended on Saturday)," Sharad Pawar had said on Monday.

Meanwhile, the state Anti-Corruption Bureau reiterated before the High Court on Friday that it found no evidence against Ajit Pawar in an alleged irrigation scam.