After resigning, Ajit Pawar attends NCP MLAs' meet

NCP leader Ajit Pawar, who joined hands with the BJP last week to form government in Maharashtra but quit it later, attended a meeting of his party MLAs here on Wednesday.

The meeting is being held at the Y B Chavan Centre, ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray as the next chief minister of the state.

Maharashtra NCP chief Jayant Patil, and senior party leaders Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil were also present in the meeting.

Ajit Pawar, who won the October 21 state polls from Pune's Baramati seat with a margin of 1.65 lakh votes, shocked his party and family last Saturday after he joined hands with the BJP and became deputy chief minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led government.

The NCP subsequently sacked him as its legislature unit leader the same day. However, he continues to be a member of the party.

Ajit Pawar on Tuesday resigned as Dy CM citing "personal reason", following which Fadnavis too stepped down as chief minister, leading to collapse of the BJP-led government.