Maharashtra Crisis: Who Said What

Amit Shah’s coup leading to the BJP-NCP government lasted just three days. Hours after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test to prove majority for November 27, both Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar resigned.

“We don’t have majority after Ajit Pawar’s resignation as Dy CM,” Fadnavis said in a press conference.

With Pawar’s resignation, the Ajit-Pawar led NCP’s 54-member legislature party is also lost.

The floor test will no longer be necessary.

President’s rule was imposed in Maharashtra on November 12 as no party could form a government. While it appeared that a Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance will take over, the BJP swooped the seat along with NCP to form a government in the wee hours of Saturday.

Amidst the drama, here’s a look at who said what:

The NCP patron who is having a fallout with his nephew Ajit Pawar tweeted appreciating the top court’s order for floor test on Tuesday morning:

Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy took a jibe at Fadnavis and tweeted, “I heard Fadnavis resigned? I was disappointed. If you look at it, his resignation should have made me happy. Because they were the ones who made all the effort to collapse my government. They hosted the rebel MLAs right? Time has answered them, that’s why I’m disappointed.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said: “Today because of the constitution, a government has been forced to resign”. “People matter, not individuals,” she added.

“There are still some people who are not scared, they are willing to go to jail but won’t align with you. We have heard freedom at midnight but have we ever had a government at midnight? There is no use scaring us. It won’t work here in Bengal!” she stated.

Shiv Sena’s Priyanka Chaturvedi was also quick to take a jibe:

Senior NCP leader Nawab Malik, called Sharad Pawar the real ‘Chanakya’ of Maharashtra, and stated that Sharad Pawar has “defeated other Chanakyas”. This sentiment seems to have been reflecting on Twitter with memes of Sharad Pawar being compared to Amit Shah as the real ‘Chanakya’.