 "NCP MP Sule hugs Ajit Pawar, greets Maharashtra MLAs before oath session")
As the special session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly commenced here on Wednesday, all eyes were on NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who last week rebelled against his party to support the BJP to form government but resigned as deputy chief minister on Tuesday.
As Ajit Pawar entered the Vidhan Bhavan premises on Wednesday morning, his cousin and Lok Sabha member Supriya Sule greeted him with a warm hug.
Sule, the daughter of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, was standing at the Vidhan Bhavan's entrance to greet her party legislators.
Speaking to reporters in the Vidhan Bhavan premises, Ajit Pawar said, "I was and am still with the NCP. I never left the party."
After Ajit Pawar revolted against the party to back a BJP government led by Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday, a visibly moved Sule in her WhatsApp status then said the Pawar family and the party had split.
"Who do you trust in life. Never felt so cheated in life. Defended him, loved him. Look what I get in return," she had said in another status post, about Ajit Pawar.
In a dramatic twist to political events in Maharashtra, BJP's Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as his deputy by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at a hush hush ceremony in Raj Bhavan early Saturday morning.
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However, the NCP MLA, who won with a whopping margin of over 1.6 lakh votes from Pune's Baramati seat, resigned as Dy CM on Tuesday, following which Fadnavis stepped down as chief minister, leading to collapse of the BJP-led government.
A special session of the 14th Maharashtra Legislative Assembly commenced here on Wednesday to administer oath to the newly-elected members.
The newly-elected members could not take oath earlier even one month after the results of the Assembly polls were announced due to dramatic political developments in the state.
The state remained under President's rule for 13 days between November 12 and 23 after no political party was able to form a government.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked Koshyari to appoint a pro tem speaker and ensure all elected members of the House are sworn in on Wednesday itself by 5 pm.