Union Minister of State for Social Justice Ramdas Athawale met Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar at the latter's residence here on Thursday and said he has made the right decision. I have been with him for many years, PM Narendra Modi is taking everyone together. Be it a Hindu, Muslim or a Dalit, PM Modi enjoys the support of everyone. Ajit Pawar told me that he had this thought in mind for quite some time. 2-3 meetings (within NCP) were also done to come together with the BJP but no conclusion was drawn.
In a surprise move on July 2nd NCP leader Ajit Pawar who was also the Maharashtra Leader of Opposition joined the Shiv Sena-BJP alliance in Maharashtra and took oath as Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister. The move by NCP chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit Pawar, which also saw eight other NCP MLAs joining the Shinde-Fadnavis government, came amid efforts by opposition parties to forge unity to take on the BJP in the next year's Lok Sabha polls.
In June last year, the MVA government of Thackeray collapsed after a revolt led by Eknath Shinde against the Shiv Sena leadership. The revolt also led to a split in the Shiv Sena.