Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively, on November 23 at an early morning ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar on Tuesday made another big revelation, saying that he was aware that his nephew and party leader Ajit Pawar was in touch with Devendra Fadnavis but he did not believe that he would go as far as extending support to a BJP-led government.
The new disclosure came a day after the Maratha strongman said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had proposed "working together" and had offered to make his daughter Supriya Sule a central cabinet minister but he rejected the offer.
As the talks between the Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress were underway for a coalition government in Maharashtra last month, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar took oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively, on November 23 at an early morning ceremony at the Raj Bhavan.
The government, however, collapsed 80 hours later on November 26 as Ajit resigned, citing unavailability of support from NCP MLAs. Fadnavis resigned soon after, clearing the way for a Maha Vikas Aghadi government of Sena-NCP-Congress combine.
"I knew Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were in talks, but the speculation that I was aware of Ajit's political move is wrong," Pawar told NDTV in an interview.
"There was a suggestion from some BJP leaders that there has to be some dialogue. Even if we could not work together. But the feeling was there has to be dialogue. The dialogue was kept between Ajit Pawar and Fadnavis," the NCP chief said.
He added that the Ajit was unhappy over heated discussions with Congress leaders for government formation.
"But there is a background to this development. There was a heated discussion between myself and Congress leaders from Delhi at the Nehru Centre on certain issues. For a moment, I thought I would not associate with this discussion and that I should not be involved in talks," he said.
"Ajit was very, very unhappy at that heated conversation. The Congress was demanding extra portfolios. I walked out. Ajit also walked out and told my colleagues I don't know how we will be able to work tomorrow. That night he had a meeting with Devendra Fadnavis," the Maratha leader said.
When asked if Ajit would be inducted into Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Cabinet, the former Union Minister said the NCP would take a call after the conclusion of the upcoming winter session of the state legislature.
He asserted that the coalition government will last for the entire five years and there is no tussle over portfolios.
The government will run as per the Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and not on any ideology, he said.
In the CMP released on Thursday last ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, the three alliance partners have said they "commit to uphold the secular values enshrined in the Constitution."
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