The events that unfolded in Maharashtra over the last four days have been dramatic in every sense. The decision to revoke President’s Rule at midnight, and the early-morning swearing in of Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as chief minister and deputy chief minister shocked the whole nation. The NCP, to which Ajit Pawar belongs, was working out the nitty-gritty to form a government in alliance with the Shiv Sena and the Congress before the swearing-in took place. But the BJP wooed Ajit Pawar and tried to break the NCP. However, party supremo Sharad Pawar held on to his flock. As the attempt to woo MLAs failed, and with the Supreme Court giving a 24-hour deadline to prove majority, the duo resigned on Tuesday.
The intervention of the SC gave no scope for horse trading to the BJP. The brazen misuse of the office of the governor of Maharashtra by the BJP to form the government was unfortunate. The role of the president of India is also questionable in this whole episode. The BJP made desperate attempts to win the trust vote, using allurement and other methods. In its lust for power, the saffron party is crossing all limits of political decency. Now that the BJP has failed to prove its majority, the Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress are expected to stake claim to form the next government in Maharashtra. Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray is expected to be next chief minister. The coming together of three parties with vast ideological differences to form the government will not be easy. For now, the willingness to keep the BJP out of power has made them join hands together. However, the real problem will start once the government is formed.