All eyes on Maharashtra CM Fadnavis' briefing, amid reports of Ajit Pawar's resignation

In the latest development, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will address the media at 3.30 pm on Tuesday. This comes amid reports that Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has resigned from his position after frantic attempts by NCP leaders to convince him in this regard. While the Sena and NCP leaders such as Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Praful Patel, and Jayant Patil are meeting currently at the Sofitel hotel in Mumbai, the leaders of Congress have also arrived at the venue to join in the deliberations. Meanwhile, all the MLAs of the BJP will meet at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday night. Meanwhile, the Congress, NCP and Shiv Sena MLAs will meet at a Mumbai hotel to elect a leader from among them.

Read: Shiv Sena And NCP Tout Numbers Ahead Of SC Verdict On Maharashtra Floor Test

Read: Irrigation Scam Probe Still Underway: Maharashtra ACB Chief Refutes Ajit Pawar Clean Chit

Floor test on Wednesday

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court ordered a floor test on Wednesday at 5 pm. It directed for a Protem Speaker to be appointed immediately, who has been given the responsibility of administering the oath to the newly-elected MLAs before 5 pm. Moreover, it ruled that the secret ballot would not be used. Moreover, this entire procedure will be telecasted live. 

Read: Fadnavis: We Will Create A Maharashtra Of Babasaheb Ambedkar,Shivaji Maharaj's Dreams

Opposition slams relief to Ajit Pawar

On Monday, there was minor relief for Ajit Pawar as the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) closed the investigation in 9 open inquiries related to the irrigation scam. The agency is going through 3,000 tenders that were sanctioned by Ajit Pawar and his party colleague Sunil Tatkare. Speaking exclusively to Republic TV, the ACB chief clarified that no clean chit had been issued to the Maharashtra Deputy CM. As the High Court is monitoring the investigation in the multi-crore irrigation scam, the ACB will soon place a status report to the court. One of the first actions taken by Fadnavis after becoming Chief Minister in 2014 was to sanction an investigation into Ajit Pawar's alleged role in the irrigation scam. The opposition slammed this development, claiming that BJP had given a clean chit to Ajit Pawar for the sake of power. 

Read: Rohit Pawar Invokes 'love', Requests Ajit Pawar To Reconcile With NCP Chief Sharad Pawar