Mumbai: Hours after Congress leadership picked up suave technocrat-politician Prithviraj Chavan as the next chief minister of Maharashtra, ally NCP today replaced OBC leader Chhagan Bhujbal with Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit as his deputy.
The announcement of Pawar as the next deputy chief minister was greeted by NCP supporters outside the party office as they burst firecrackers to celebrate their leader ascending the chair he missed by a whisker last year.
Top NCP leaders including Praful Patel, who flew in from Delhi to attend a meeting of NCP legislators, spent over an hour placating a sulking Bhujbal, who may still continue in the state cabinet.
Ajit Pawar is likely to hold home portfolio, besides energy, party sources said. Senior NCP leader R R Patil holds the home portfolio.
The announcement of Ajit Pawar's name was formally made by Patel after the NCP legislature party meet, at NCP office near Mantralaya in south Mumbai.
Bhujbal proposed Ajit Pawar be named new legislature party leader. R R Patil seconded the proposal, Patel said. "Congress has chosen Prithviraj Chavan as the new chief minister," he said.
Congress-NCP leaders will meet Maharashtra Governor K Sankaranarayanan tonight to stake claim to form the new government. To a query, Patel refuted that Bhujbal was removed from the post.
"Bhujbal has been serving the party for long. He is not a junior member. He himself proposed Pawar's name," he said. It was the desire of everyone that Ajit Pawar be made new deputy chief minister, Patel said.
"Sharad Pawar told me and other leaders while leaving Delhi that we should take into consideration feelings of the NCP legislators," Patel said. "After the meeting began, the first proposal was by Bhujbal that Ajit Pawar be named new legislature party leader. That made our job easy. Everyone clapped and welcomed the announcement," he said.
Asked if Bhujbal would be shifted to the Centre, Patel said, "Please don't forget that NCP is a national party. Like Congress has high command, we also have a high command."