The sun set on Friday evening on the surety that Shiv Sena and NCP would form a government in Maharashtra, but the tables were turned on them the next morning with Devendra Fadnavis taking oath as CM and Ajit Pawar as DyCM.
The developments may seem sudden, but they were not. The saffron party had been holding discreet negotiations with Ajit Pawar to form a government over last several days.
The person who had been entrusted this responsibility was Bhupendra Yadav, a close and trusted aide of Amit Shah. Yadav who has proven record of being a silent, behind the curtains worker is election in-charge in Maharashtra. Working on the ground he had been in Maharashtra all through the election process and was also there on counting day. He was present for the Maharashtra BJP core committee meet too.
However, when SS refused to negotiate and BJP informed the Governor that it did not have requisite numbers, it was naturally presumed that BJP had bowed out of government formation. But if one looks back in retrospect it can be seen that never once did the BJP say that they would not form a government.
It is rightly said that politics is all about keeping ones wits and cool. So, while Shiv Sena moved on the single point agenda of getting a Thackrey in the CM chair and publicly declared every development of forming an alliance, BJP in contrast moved slowly but surely and of course silently on the course of forming a government in Maharashtra.
There were intense negotiations between BJP and Ajit Pawar over the last several days. Working in close tandem with Shah Yadav was conducting the negotiations on behalf of BJP.
BJP moved in for the kill just after the announcement of SS, NCP, Congress forming a government with Uddhav Thackrey as CM. Maharashtra election in-charge Yadav reached Mumbai and woeked out final negotiations with Ajit Pawar.
The result was an early morning swearing in of Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister and Ajit Pawar as DyCM. According to a source in BJP, “We were always sure of forming a government.”
Yadav who has been associated with the party from his student days is presently the national general secretary and Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan.
