Twenty-four hours before the early morning oath-taking ceremony in Maharashtra took everyone by surprise, Ajit Pawar, leader of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), tweeted, “Today important leaders of National Congress Party did a fruitful discussion with alliance partner on government formation. I was also present there in this meeting and have been informed about the view of alliance partners.”  He also posted pictures of the meeting with leaders of Congress, NCP, Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghtana, and Samajwadi Party. The likes of Prithviraj Chavan, Manikrao Thakre, Jayant Patil, Dhananjay Munde of Congress and NCP were all present. Another NCP leader Dhananjay Munde tweeted along the same lines. 

Up until Saturday morning, no one could have imagined that these two leaders had been secretly meeting Devendra Fadnavis since the imposition of President’s rule in Maharashtra. Till Friday night, Uddhav Thackeray was almost set to be the next chief minister. Newspapers and media outlets reported the same on Saturday morning. However, what happened in the early hours of Saturday morning was unexpected for the Shiv Sena eyeing the Chief Minister’s chair. At around eight in the morning, in a sharp turn of events, Devendra Fadnavis, BJP leader was sworn in as Chief Minister while NCP’s Ajit Pawar was appointed the deputy chief minister. 

The early morning oath-taking ceremony caught political pundits and reporters on the wrong foot. However, a media outlet by the name of Katta News had tweeted, “Ajit Pawar is ready to split the party with 35 MLAs and may join hands with BJP to form the government in Maharashtra.”

Here’s look at what happened behind the scenes in Maharashtra.

While Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress were actively attempting to form the government after the imposition of  President’s rule, BJP kept its cards close, almost altogether avoiding the media spotlight. As multiple meetings carried on in Mumbai and Delhi between the leaders of Shiv Sena, Congress, and NCP, secret meetings were conducted between Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar, and Dhananjay Munde. As it was discovered later, these confidential sessions were held at Varsha, the official bungalow of the Chief Minister.

After the deal was finalised between Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar, a select bunch of NCP MLAs were called to Dhananjay Munde’s bungalow around 6 am. Later, these MLAs along with Dhananjay Munde were taken to Rajbhavan, where the oath-taking ceremony took place around 8 am.

Sources in NCP informed this reporter that Ajit Pawar was reluctant about the Sena-Congress-NCP alliance from the very start. He had requested Sharad Pawar, his uncle, to extend support to BJP, instead.

After the oath-taking ceremony, Sharad Pawar tweeted, “Ajit Pawar’s decision to support the BJP to form the Maharashtra government is his personal decision and not that of NCP.” 

At around 12:43 pm, a joint press conference with Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray took place at YB  Chavan Center. Before that, the Shiv Sena and individual leaders of the NCP were involved in a meeting. At the press conference, Sharad Pawar said all three parties sat together to form the government. They had the support of 154 MLAs across from NCP, Sena, and Congress. With the help of others, the figure would reach up to 169-170. He said, “I have been informed by an associate that at 6.30 in the morning, through telephone, the governor conveyed his willingness to appoint the Chief Minister at Raj Bhavan and that Ajit Pawar is taking the oath of Deputy Chief Minister. This is Ajit Pawar’s decision, and it is against the decision of NCP. I am confident that a true NCP supporter would never support the BJP.”

“Those who are planning to go with BJP should know about the anti-defection law. As per our information, 10 to 11 NCP members were present during the oath-taking ceremony. They have been identified through television and photos. Some of those who attended the ceremony have contacted us,” he added.

However, it is essential to note that these MLAs have not taken oath yet, and cannot be disqualified under the anti-defection law.

Rajendra Shingane, an NCP MLA from Buldhana, met Pawar at his residence after attending the Raj Bhawan ceremony. During the press conference, Shingane said, “Ajit Dada called me at midnight and told me that he needs to discuss something with me. He asked me to come to Dhananjay Munde’s bungalow at around six in the morning. When I reached there, seven to eight MLAs were already present. Then we were all taken to Raj Bhawan where we waited in a room. After some time, Chandrakant Patil, Devendra Fadnavis, and Girish Mahajan arrived, and oath-taking ceremony began. I was not aware of why they were taking us to Raj Bhawan. I went to Dhananjay Munde’s bungalow because our leader asked me to.”

Like Shingane, two other MLAs, Sandeep Kshirsagar and Sunil Bhusara, declared they too were in the dark when they were taken to Raj Bhawan.

An NCP leader, privy to these developments, on the condition of anonymity, said, “This decision to support BJP government wouldn’t have taken place without the permission of Pawar Sahab. Some discussions have taken place between Modiji and him, and this whole development has taken place because of that. One thing is sure that Ajit Dada cannot go ahead without the nod of Pawar Sahab.”

Newslaundry spoke to journalist Sudhir Suryvanshi, who had mentioned the possibility of Ajit Pawar extending support to BJP on his official twitter handle three days ago. He was the only person to predict Saturday morning’s developments. He said, “Ajit Pawar is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate. The other thing is that he was not sure about the sustenance of a Sena-NCP-Congress government. Even in 2014, NCP had extended outside support to BJP. In fact, at that time, many NCP leaders wanted to ally with the BJP. But Sharad Pawar was in a dilemma about its ideological after-effects on the party. One group wanted to join the government, whereas the other one wanted to support it externally. But this time, when the same situation arose, Ajit Pawar was eager to support the BJP. And an added benefit was that the move would not affect them ideologically because they were also supporting Sena.”

Suryavanshi further added, “Ajit Pawar and Dhananjay Munde already had three or four meetings with Devendra Fadnavis. After these meetings, they decided to form the government. This whole thing is well-planned, and Sharad Pawar is aware of it. Ajit Pawar did not want his uncle to meet Modi because, during the meeting, Pawar had asked BJP not to play politics that would divide their party. Thirty MLAs were there with Ajit Pawar while he was taking the oath. Sharad Pawar has given his nod to Ajit, and they see the reactions that what could happen to their party by taking this action. Ajit Pawar doing this on his own is not possible, this whole this well planned.”

Parimal Maya Sudhakar, a political commentator, said, “Ajit Pawar has been threatened by the Enforcement Directorate to support the BJP. However, this may boomerang because many of the MLAs are returning back to NCP. As per my information, 22 MLAs were in support of Ajit Pawar, but some of them are back  to Sharad Pawar camp.”

As things stand now, the political action will shift to the Supreme Court since Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress have moved the Court after BJP’s coup. All eyes are now on what the court says tomorrow.