Maharashtra govt: President's rule revoked at 5:47 AM, as BJP-NCP ally

In a political masterstroke, as BJP and NCP formed an early morning alliance government in Maharashtra on November 23, President Ram Nath Kovind released a statement confirming that the President's rule has been revoked in the state. In a mid-night drama that changed the course of political developments in Maharashtra, BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra for a second term and NCP's Ajit Pawar as the Deputy Chief Minister of the state. 

According to sources, it is affirmed that the President's rule was revoked at wee hours on Saturday, at 5:47 AM. 

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Earlier on Friday, after the joint meeting of Congress, Shiv Sena and NCP, Sharad Pawar in a statement revealed that there was unanimity on Uddhav Thackeray being the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He added that the discussions between the parties would continue tomorrow. Furthermore, he exuded confidence that the tie-up would be formally announced on Saturday. As of Friday, with Uddhav Thackeray at the helm, Congress and NCP were going to form the next government with a Deputy CM each.

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Maharashtra political deadlock

As the  BJP-Shiv Sena's 'Mahyuti' of 35 years fell out at the state-level, after Maharashtra Assembly polls with Sena supremo Uddhav Thackeray insisting a 50-50 sharing of Chief Minister post for 2.5 years and portfolios and Fadnavis refused to these demands, the Shiv Sena had allied with the NCP-Congress combination to form a new alliance - 'Maha Vikas Aghadi'. The Mahayuti alliance swept Maharashtra on October 24, winning a combined tally of 161 (BJP- 105, Sena -56). Meanwhile, the Maha Agadhi alliance (NCP-Congress) won  98 seats (NCP- 54, Congress- 44 ). The halfway mark in 144 in the 288 seat-Assembly.