Mumbai: The much-awaited Cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government on Sunday proved to be a heartbreak for some of the prominent legislators in Maharashtra. All three constituents of the Mahayuti -- the BJP, the Shiv Sena and the NCP -- dropped some big names during the Cabinet expansion that took place in Nagpur on the eve of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature.
The 10-day-old BJP-led Mahayuti ministry in Maharashtra was expanded on Sunday, with 39 ministers being sworn in, taking its strength to 42. While 33 legislators were sworn in as Cabinet ministers, six took the oath as ministers of state. Maharashtra governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at the Raj Bhavan.
In the expansion, the BJP got 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 berths for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and nine for Ajit Pawar’s NCP.
There is a strong buzz that several ministers will be replaced after two-and-a-half years. Shiv Sena minister Shambhuraj Desai confirmed the discussions on a "two-and-a-half-year term". The ministers, who took the oath, have been given the idea about it.
Recently, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar had also indicated that ministers will be replaced after two-and-a-half years. That way, we can give proper representation to all districts, he had said.
After his new team took the oath, Mr Fadnavis said it was "a matter of joy”. The BJP, however, sprang a surprise by dropping Sudhir Mungantiwar and Ravindra Chavan, two of the senior ministers in the earlier Eknath Shinde-led Mahayuti government.
Both the leaders are expected to be given organisational responsibilities in the BJP, with Mr Chavan likely to be made a state unit chief, said party sources.
Mr Pawar excluded senior MLAs like Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Vijaykumar Gavit and Dharmarao Baba Atram from his quota in the Cabinet expansion. He defended the decision, saying the ministerial berths are limited and everybody deserves an opportunity.
“We will give an opportunity to others also for two-and-a-half years,” Mr Pawar said.
“During the previous tenure of the Mahayuti government, some legislators got an opportunity to work as ministers for one-and-a-half years. We have decided that during the five-year tenure of this government, we will give an opportunity to others also for two-and-a-half years, which means many will get a chance to become (Cabinet) ministers and state ministers. Accordingly, many districts and regions will get representation,” Mr Pawar added.
In the Shiv Sena, senior MLAs Deepak Kesarkar, Tanaji Sawant and Abdul Sattar did not find a place in the ministry.
For the BJP, state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mumbai unit chief Ashish Shelar, Ganesh Naik, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Pankaja Munde, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Chandrakant Patil and Nitesh Rane were among those who took the oath.
Shiv Sena leaders Shambhuraj Desai, Dada Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Uday Samant, Gulabrao Patil and Sanjay Shirsat were also sworn in as ministers.
NCP leaders Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Aditi Tatkare and Shivendra Raje Bhosale were inducted into the Cabinet as well.
The Fadnavis government will have four women ministers -- BJP’s Pankaja Munde, Madhuri Misal, Meghana Bordikar and NCP’s Aditi Tatkare.
With 39 ministers taking oath on Sunday, the strength of the Fadnavis government has reached 42, including the CM and two deputy CMs -- Mr Pawar and Eknath Shinde. Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 ministers.
On December 5, Mr Fadnavis was sworn in as the chief minister with Mr Shinde and Mr Pawar as his deputies.
The week-long winter session of the state Legislature is slated to begin in Nagpur, Maharashtra’s second capital, on Monday.
