NCP workers from Pandharpur meet Sharad Pawar, request cabinet post for their MP

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) workers from Pandharpur on Thursday met party chief Sharad Pawar at his residence here and requested a State Cabinet post for Bhalke Bharat, the MLA from their constituency.

AN NCP worker told ANI: "We had come to request Pawar saheb to make our MLA Bhalke Bharat, a minister in the cabinet. I think he will think positively about our proposal. We met Pawar Sahab, he was in a really good mood and we believe that he will positively think about our proposal and we will get justice."

"Even if we do not get the ministerial post, we will work for Sharad Pawar as we are his workers," said another NCP worker, Sandeep from Pandharpur.

Sandeep further lauded Sharad Pawar and his alliance partners to end the 'dictatorship' from Maharashtra state.

Security was beefed up outside Silver Oak, the residence of Shard Pawar today ahead of the oath taking ceremony of Uddhav Thackeray at Shivaji Park in Dadar.

Uddhav will be the first member from the Thackeray family to become the chief minister and the third Shiv Sena leader to hold the top post after Manohar Joshi and Narayan Rane.

He will lead a government of the Maha Vikas Aghadi, an alliance of Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress.

Thackeray's oath-taking follows weeks of political uncertainty and changing political equations with NCP chief Sharad Pawar's nephew Ajit supporting BJP and being sworn-in as the deputy chief minister.

This comes after BJP's Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar of NCP stepped down as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister on Monday evening after the Supreme Court ordered a floor test in the 288-member Assembly the next day.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh, Congress president Sonia Gandhi and about 400 farmers from various districts are among the people who have been invited for the oath-taking ceremony scheduled to be held at 6:40 pm today.

Firm on its demands, Sena, the second-largest party in the state, did not hesitate to cobble up with the ideological opponents -- NCP and Congress -- and was given the chief minister's post.