In a dramatic turn of events that has caught almost every political analyst by surprise, Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday took oath as the Maharashtra chief minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar as his deputy. Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to the two leaders at Raj Bhawan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was among the first politicians to congratulate Fadnavis and Pawar.

Expressing confidence in the smooth functioning of the state government, the Prime Minister said that he is confident that they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra.

Congratulations to @Dev_Fadnavis Ji and @AjitPawarSpeaks Ji on taking oath as the CM and Deputy CM of Maharashtra respectively. I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) November 23, 2019

Home minister Amit Shah also congratulated the two leaders on Twitter.

श्री @Dev_Fadnavis जी को महाराष्ट्र के मुख्यमंत्री और श्री @AjitPawarSpeaks को प्रदेश के उपमुख्यमंत्री के रूप में शपथ लेने पर हार्दिक बधाई।

मुझे विश्वास है कि यह सरकार महाराष्ट्र के विकास और कल्याण के प्रति निरंतर कटिबद्ध रहेगी और प्रदेश में प्रगति के नये मापदंड स्थापित करेगी।— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) November 23, 2019

In an overnight coup, the BJP turned the tables on its political rivals, engineering a split in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), with a faction under nephew Ajit Pawar breaking away from Sharad Pawar party and forming the government under the leadership of Fadnavis in the wee hours of Saturday morning.On Friday, Sharad Pawar announced that the new Maharashtra government would be led by Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. Most newspaper had that announcement in their front pages.

First Published:Nov 23, 2019 9:28 AM IST