Devendra Fadnavis resigns as Maharashtra Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday resigned as Maharashtra Chief Minister, three days after taking oath for the second term. Ahead of Fadnavis' resignation, Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar, also quit in a surprise turn of events. Pawar, who had engineered an alliance between the NCP and BJP, resigned after it was clear that he did not had the support of his party's MLAs. Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar's resignation came just hours after the Supreme Court of India ordered an immediate floor test in the Maharashtra assembly. Announcing his resignation at a press conference, Fadnavis said, "Looking at the current scenario, I also resign as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra. I thank the people of Maharashtra for giving me the opportunity to serve them. We worked for everyone, and every sector. There was a lot of work done in the last 5 years, and I am very happy with it."
He said, "After this I'll go to Raj Bhavan and tender my resignation. I wish them all the best whoever will form the govt. But that will be a very unstable govt as there is huge difference of opinions," adding, "The hunger for power is such that now Shiv Sena leaders are even willing to ally with Sonia Gandhi." Fadnavis later went to the Raj Bhavan and submitted his resignation to governor Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.
Fadnavis told the media that the party will never indulge in horse-trading and will never try to break away any MLA. "Those who said that we indulge in horse-trading bought the entire horse stable."
On Ajit Pawar's resignation, Fadnavis said Pawar has tendered his resignation due to "personal reasons".
Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court directed Fadnavis to prove his majority in a televised test of strength that would not be carried out by secret ballot. "If the floor test is delayed, there is a possibility of horse-trading, it becomes incumbent upon the Court to act to protect democratic values. An immediate floor test, in such a case, might be the most effective mechanism to do so," the Supreme Court said, in a massive setback to the BJP on a day India paid tribute to its Constitution.
The apex court asked Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari to appoint a pro-tem speaker and ensure that all the elected members of the House are sworn in on Wednesday itself by 5:00 PM for paving the way for the floor test.
The BJP and Shiv Sena had fought the Maharashtra Assembly election as an alliance but parted ways after the results were announced over sharing the chief ministerial post. As the parties reached an impasse, Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress came together to stake a claim. However, in a surprise move on Saturday, Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari swore-in Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar as the chief minister and the deputy chief minister respectively.
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