TNI Bureau: After a getting a “clean chit” in the white paper on irrigation scam, released by his own government, NCP leader Ajit Pawar made a comeback as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra. He took the oath this morning. While Congress and NCP leaders attended the swearing-in, BJP, MNS and Shiv Sena boycotted it.

The NCP was so desperate to see Ajit Pawar back in Cabinet that Governor K Sankaranarayanan was asked to reschedule his Pune visit in view of the swearing-in at 9:30 AM. Ajit Pawar will get back his portfolios – Power and Finance.

With 53 MLAs on Ajit Pawar’s side, it was very tough for Sharad Pawar and Prithviraj Chavan to ignore him for long. It could be recalled that those MLAs wanted to quit when Ajit Pawar resigned on September 25.

Ajit Pawar was the Water Resources Minister from 1999 to 2010 when the Rs 20,000 crore irrigation scam took place. However, the white paper gave him a clean chit, paving way for his return.