Senior NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who had resigned from the cabinet in September following charges of corruption in irrigation projects, is set to make a comeback on Friday as Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister.
Mr. Ajit Pawar will be sworn in at 10 a.m. at Raj Bhavan, sources close to the NCP leader told PTI on Thursday evening.
After the white paper on irrigation scam was presented before the State cabinet last fortnight, it was a matter of time before Mr. Ajit Pawar was re-inducted, they said.
In the period after he stepped down, the party had desisted from naming any other NCP leader as Deputy Chief Minister, leading to speculation that the post was being kept vacant for Mr. Ajit Pawar to reoccupy it.
The decks for re-induction of Mr. Ajit Pawar, nephew of NCP chief Sharad Pawar, were cleared following the presentation of the white paper.
NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik said party activists wanted Mr. Ajit Pawar to rejoin the government and would convey their feelings to the leadership.
There was a growing clamour for Mr. Ajit Pawar’s comeback before the winter session of the State legislature, which begins at Nagpur on December 10, from several NCP leaders and activists.
