Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis meet first time after Maha fiasco

Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar met Bharatiya Janata Party's leader of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis for the first time after their 80-hour, two-men government crashed last month.

The two were invited for the wedding of independent legislator Sanjay Shinde on Sunday and shared a common sofa even as the media furiously clicked away at this unexpected "encounter".

However, in Baramati on Monday, Ajit Pawar sought to brush off the meeting with Fadnavis, saying nobody is a permanent enemy in politics.

"He was invited, I was also invited for the wedding by Sanjay Shinde. We were seated together so we just discussed the weather," claimed Pawar with a smile.

To queries on when the portfolios would be allocated, he said: "It is the prerogative of the Chief Minister (Uddhav Thackeray)," who will take a decision.

On his probable induction as a minister or Deputy Chief Minister, Pawar said that party workers want him in the post, but the final decision will be of NCP President Sharad Pawar, plus the Maha Vikas Aghadi comprising Shiv Sena and Congress.

He refused to field any queries on the recent "clean chits" he secured from the investigators in the irrigation scam.

Fadnavis and Pawar were sworn in on the early morning of Nov. 23 as CM and DCM, creating a massive political upheaval.

However, the government proved to be short-lived and barely four days later, both quit, paving the way for the MVA government headed by Thackeray.
IANS