Ajit Pawar hasn't gone for Dy CM post, but...: Shiv Sena (UBT)'s claim on NCP split

The Uddhav Thackeray faction of the Shiv Sena on July 3 claimed that NCP leader Ajit Pawar has been inducted into the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance in Maharashtra to replace Eknath Shinde as Chief Minister.

In its mouthpiece 'Saamana', Sena (UBT) said that Ajit Pawar has not joined the ruling alliance just for the Deputy Chief Minister's post. The editorial piece claimed that CM Shinde and his followers who had split the Shiv Sena would soon be disqualified from the Assembly.

It said when Shinde and other MLAs left the Shiv Sena (last year), they blamed the party president and (then) chief minister Uddhav Thackeray for not controlling then-finance minister Ajit Pawar who had taken immense control over fund disbursement and sanctioning work orders. "The primary reason according to the rebel MLAs was 'we left the Shiv Sena because of the NCP'," the editorial said.

What will they do now? During the swearing-in ceremony (of Ajit Pawar on Sunday), the expressions on their faces (of Shinde bloc members) made it evident that their future is dark, it claimed.

(With PTI inputs)