Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday said the induction of NCP leader Ajit Pawar as deputy chief minister in the Maharashtra government was the beginning of the process of Eknath Shinde losing his chief minister's post.
Talking to reporters, Raut claimed that Maharashtra would soon get a new chief minister.
In a surprising development, Ajit Pawar on Sunday took oath as the deputy CM, while eight MLAs of his Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) took oath as ministers in the government led by the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
"This (oath-taking ceremony) is the start of Eknath Shinde losing his chief minister's post. His MLAs will be disqualified as members of the House. In order to continue being in power even after it, Ajit Pawar and the NCP MLAs have joined the government," Raut said.
He also said the NCP joining the government and the rebellion in the party was not a political earthquake. "This development should not be seen as (shaping up of a) triple engine (government)...One of the two engines is going to fail," he said.
When asked whether NCP chief Sharad Pawar was aware of this development, Raut said, "He had all the information about it." "But you should ask BJP leaders who used to criticise NCP leaders everyday over corruption," he said.