Ajit Pawar called Amit Shah in mid-November 2019 to talk about forming the government. Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis decided to go ahead with their original plan. Ajit Pawar had already spoken with thirty-five to thirty-eight NCP legislators, all of whom had given him the go-ahead. The BJP had 105 seats of its own and the support of fifteen independent candidates and smaller parties; they needed twenty-five more legislators to cross the magic figure of 145. Devendra Fadnavis called these possible cross-over legislators to assure them. Once these NCP legislators arrived in Mumbai, they would be shifted either to Delhi or Haryana. In due course of time, a pro tem Speaker would be appointed by the governor. Sudhir Suryawanshi Checkmate: How the BJP Won and Lost Maharashtra Viking, May 2020 The Vidhan Bhavan rule 8, section 180 (1), permits the pro tem Speaker in the Maharashtra assembly to conduct the election of the Speaker by secret ballot if there is more than one application for the same post. Maharashtra is the only state in India where this secret ballot method has been retained for the election of the Speaker. Fadnavis decided to use this loophole to come to power a second time, as many legislators would perhaps cross over if this was a secret ballot and not do so if the Speaker was elected by a show of hands. And if the Speaker was elected by a secret ballot and cross-voting, the floor test would be easy for them. It would not be a big deal for Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar, to prove the majority on the floor of the house. In 2014, Devendra Fadnavis proved the majority of his government by a show of hands, even though the BJP had only 122 legislators on its side against the required 145. The NCP walked out and the Shiv Sena created a ruckus but that did not stop the BJP from coming to power in 2014. Court cases had been filed and so much was written against the government but nothing had happened. Fadnavis perhaps had decided to use the same method in 2019. The BJP leaders from Delhi had approved the plan of breaking the NCP. Out of the thirty-eight legislators breaking away, it was decided that twenty would be made either a Cabinet minister or a minister of state. The remaining would be given the cooperations and chairmanships of housing and development bodies like the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA), the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO), and so on. After leaving the Maha Vikas Aghadi meeting at the Nehru Centre (Worli) on 22 November 2019, Ajit Pawar arrived at his Churchgate residence. He again left the house at around 10.30 p.m. He asked his driver to stop on the way. He then asked the driver to return to his house with the car. Pawar stepped into another car and left for the western suburbs. Around the same time, Fadnavis also left his chief ministerial convoy and, in a different vehicle, arrived at the Hotel Sofitel in BKC, around midnight. Both leaders chose to avoid the public glare and media attention. They entered the fivestar luxury hotel from a back door. It was an hour-long meeting. After hearing the name of Uddhav Thackeray as a possible candidate for the position of the chief minister of Maharashtra, Devendra Fadnavis panicked and informed Ajit Pawar that they had to take the oath the very next day, on 23 November 2019, at Raj Bhavan. Ajit Pawar asked him about President’s Rule and other procedures and requested Fadnavis to not be in a hurry. Ajit Pawar told Fadnavis that Sharad Pawar had given the green signal but the final discussion was yet to happen. However, according to an NCP leader who spoke with the author, Fadnavis told him that discussions could take place later. According to Fadnavis, it was of utmost importance to take the oath as soon as possible and then resolve other pending matters. Meanwhile, Ajit Pawar had come to know that his uncle was reluctant to align with the BJP. A person close to Ajit Pawar said to this author that while planning the formation of the government with the Shiv Sena and the Congress, the state NCP president Jayant Patil’s name was finalized for the position of the deputy chief minister with the home portfolio. It was a big shock for Ajit Pawar. There seemed to be a plan afoot to systematically sideline Ajit Pawar, and to later bring in Supriya Sule as the chief minister of Maharashtra for the half term once Uddhav Thackeray’s two and a half years were over . . . It seemed like the end of Ajit Pawar’s career. Perhaps, therefore, Ajit Pawar also panicked and decided to go ahead with what must have seemed to be his last resort—joining hands with the BJP despite his uncle’s reluctance. Ajit Pawar had apparently told Fadnavis that if more time was given to his uncle, then it would be very difficult for them to form the government with the NCP rebels. Once his uncle got wind of this, he would pacify the rebels in his style. Fadnavis and Pawar decided to strike before Sharad Pawar had a chance to play his power game. After the meeting of all three parties, the Shiv Sena, the Congress and the NCP at the Nehru Centre in Worli, it seemed certain to all that the coalition government of the Maha Vikas Aghadi would come to power. Before the Maha Vikas Aghadi submitted its letter to the governor, the oath had to be taken. Therefore, it was in the early hours of Saturday, 23 November, that the swearing-in ceremony of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was conducted at Raj Bhavan. Ajit Pawar and his close aide had called the thirty-eight NCP legislators in Mumbai and had asked them to assemble at Dhananjay Munde’s bungalow in front of the Secretariat House (Mantralaya) at 12.30 a.m. Sunil Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde and Praful Patel had been kept in the loop. They had suggested that the revolt should not happen immediately. They would first try to arrive at a consensus among the legislators at the leadership level and only then would they officially join the BJP. Munde kept on insisting that this was not the right time to join the BJP. But Ajit Pawar was not in the mood to listen to him. Munde was in a dilemma. Should he stand by his political guru, Ajit Pawar, or support the party chief, Sharad Pawar? Late that night, Munde went to his friend’s flat in Cuffe Parade, located five minutes from his official residence. Until 3 a.m, Munde did not get any sleep, he said. Meanwhile, NCP legislators started trickling in at Munde’s bungalow as per the original plan. The BJP MLC, Prasad Lad, and Ajit Pawar’s son, Parth Pawar, were coordinating and monitoring the situation. Seven private jets (seven seaters) were kept ready at the Mumbai international airport to fly the thirty-eight NCP legislators to Haryana and camp them in a hotel. Sharad Pawar and Uddhav Thackeray. Photo: PTI While leaving their own constituencies, the NCP legislators started calling each other, mentioning that Ajit Pawar had called them for a meeting. It turned out that the other legislators who were not a part of the thirty-eight had no clue about this meeting in Mumbai. Upon realizing that ‘Ajit Dada’ was taking these steps alone, without the support of Sharad Pawar, some of them backed out. Finally, out of thirty-eight, only fifteen NCP legislators reached Mumbai. This was perhaps the first signal that Ajit Pawar’s coup would not be a cakewalk. The NCP chief, Sharad Pawar, got wind of this development around 12.30 or 1 a.m. on 23 November. At Raj Bhavan, the engineers had asked the sound and microphone system operators to remain there only. This news spread and there were suspicions that something was up at Raj Bhavan. The NCP legislators who were directly in touch with Sharad Pawar informed him that Ajit Pawar had called them for a meeting. However, after speaking with Sharad Pawar, many of them decided not to attend the meeting. Pawar thus had an idea about his nephew’s plans, but he remained doubtful about its success. Later, around 3 a.m., on Saturday, Pawar sought an update on how many legislators were siding with Ajit Pawar. He knew that if only these fifteen legislators went with his nephew, that would not help him to form the government. The BJP had 105 seats and the support of fifteen independent legislators; it needed at least twenty-five to thirty legislators to cross the 145 mark. Ajit Pawar teaming up with the BJP would not only be a fiasco but he would also lose his credibility. The immediate concern was about the Maharashtra State Assembly Rule 1960 that allowed the pro tem Speaker to conduct voting through a secret ballot to elect the Speaker. This could turn the tables. As per his interview with ABP Majha, Sharad Pawar said that he went to bed late, around 3 a.m., at Silver Oak, hardly a fifteenminute drive from Raj Bhavan. Around the same time, Devendra Fadnavis was getting ready to take the oath as chief minister of Maharashtra for a second time. As per a local television channel, around 4 a.m. in the morning, Fadnavis and his wife, Amruta Fadnavis organized a mirchi havan (a sacred ritual around a fire), which was performed by the priests from Nalkheda’s Baglamukhi temple in Madhya Pradesh. Baglamukhi is a tantric deity in Hinduism. Fadnavis was told that this same havan was performed to save the Harish Rawat government in Uttarakhand. When the Rawat government lost the majority in the house, his brother Jagdish Rawat rushed to the Baglamukhi temple to perform the mirchi havan and, eventually, apparently, Rawat was able to save his government. Since then, this temple town had become famous among politicians and businessmen. The report of the channel stated that Fadnavis was convinced that if this mirchi havan was performed by him at Varsha Bungalow, his official residence in Mumbai, he would again be chief minister of Maharashtra. Earlier also, Fadnavis had conducted the same mirchi havan on several occasions to retain the chief minister’s chair whenever it was in trouble. Once the havan was done, the tantriks were paid dakshina (donation) and they left for Madhya Pradesh; their return journey was coordinated by Prasad Lad. It was time for Fadnavis to get ready for his second swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan. Rather than choosing his favourite blue jacket, he had, as per the instructions of the tantrik, opted for the colour black to ward off evil spirits. Ajit Pawar, as leader of the NCP’s legislative party, had with him two original copies of the signatures of the fifty-four NCP legislators, in Marathi and in English. A copy of the list was handed over to Maharashtra’s chief secretary, Ajoy Mehta, who was waiting at Varsha Bungalow. As per an Indian Express report dated 2 December 2019, Mehta had been specially flown in from Delhi to expedite the Devendra Fadnavis–Ajit Pawar swearing-in ceremony on 23 November. Mehta immediately rushed to Raj Bhavan. Nagpur-based Sachin Kurve, secretary to the governor at Raj Bhavan, collected the papers from Ajoy Mehta. Governor Koshyari immediately signed the papers and asked Kurve to draft an email saying the BJP, with 105 seats, had the support of the NCP, with fifty-four seats. It had the support of a total of 159 legislators, which was more than the 145 needed to form the government. He then urged that President’s Rule in the state be lifted as early as possible. Subsequently, all the documents were mailed to the Prime Minister’s Office, which was waiting for the papers from Raj Bhavan, in the wee hours of the morning. The PMO then decided to revoke President’s Rule in the state by invoking Rule 12 of the Government of India (Transaction of Business) Rules, 1961, which empowered the prime minister to take such a step without the prior approval of his Cabinet. The decision of the PMO was forwarded to President Ram Nath Kovind, who then issued a proclamation, stating, ‘In exercise of the power conferred by clause (2), of article 356 of Constitution, I Ram Nath Kovind, President of India, hereby revoke proclamation issued by me under the said article on 12th day of November 2019, concerning the state of Maharashtra with effects from November 23, 2019.’ The same was forwarded to the Union home ministry, which was also waiting for the President’s statement. Then a gazette notification was issued by the Union home secretary, Ajay Kumar Bhalla, at 5.47 in the morning on 23 November 2019. Late at night, on 22 November, Friday, former chief minister Devendra Fadanavis had called and requested the BJP state president, Chandrakant Patil, and his close aide Girish Mahajan, both senior leaders, to meet him at five in the morning for a kande pohe and sheera breakfast at his residence, Varsha, on the very next day. He mentioned that he had planned a surprise. Once Patil and Mahajan arrived on the morning of the 23rd, Fadnavis offered them Nagpur style kande pohe and sheera and drove them straight to Raj Bhavan. Surprisingly, Ajit Pawar, his wife, Sunetra, his son, Parth, his brother Shriniwas Pawar and his spouse were already waiting for the future chief minister at Raj Bhavan. Patil and Mahajan were pleasantly surprised to see Ajit Pawar. They were aware that something was going on between the leaders of the BJP and the NCP but that things would progress so quickly was beyond their wildest imagination. The NCP MLA Zirwal Narhari Sitaram, who had been called by Ajit Pawar to Raj Bhavan, told this author that when he reached the venue, he was surprised to see Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrakant Patil and Girish Mahajan. ‘I initially thought that they are meeting the governor with regard to the crop damage and compensations for farmers. I had no idea that Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar were going to take oath as chief minister and deputy chief minister,’ Zirwal told this author. He said that at Raj Bhavan every one was in a hurry and amused to see each other. ‘No one knew what to say. We were just observing what was going on. The governor came into the Darbar Hall and asked to start the process. Devendra Fadnavis took the oath. As soon as the swearing-in ceremony got over, we were asked to sit in cars that were parked inside Raj Bhavan. I told them I was not carrying any clothes or luggage with me. They asked me not to worry, a new pair of clothes would be purchased soon,’ said Zirwal, adding that they were taken to the Mumbai airport and then bundled off to Delhi and Haryana amidst tight security. In the political upheaval that took the media by storm, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the chief minister of Maharashtra at 7.50 a.m. on Saturday, 23 November. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar on Twitter. He wrote, ‘I am confident they will work diligently for the bright future of Maharashtra.’ BJP president and home minister, Amit Shah, also tweeted, congratulating the duo.