The Deputy Chief Minister is now in charge of Home, Finance and Planning, Law and Justice and Water Resources
The Deputy Chief Minister is now in charge of Home, Finance and Planning, Law and Justice and Water Resources
Less than a week after the expansion of Maharashtra’s new cabinet, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday announced portfolios for the 18 ministers inducted in the first phase.
While Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ministers (particularly Mr Fadnavis) largely held portfolios that the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) held in the then Maha Vikas Aghadi government (Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress). The Shiv Sena faction led by Mr. Shinde had kept the Shiv Sena and the Congress in the previous government.
The allotment was announced after the list was cleared by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
With over 20 cabinet berths yet to be filled, Mr. Shinde has decided to keep the urban development portfolio in general administration, information and technology, public works (public projects), transport, relief and rehabilitation among others. allotted.
BJP now has many important portfolios. Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was given Home, Finance and Planning, Law and Justice and Water Resources.
Senior BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (a longtime Congressman who switched sides in 2019) was given revenue, and animal husbandry and dairy development portfolios.
BJP MLA from Aurangabad and first-time cabinet minister Atul Save was given the crucial cooperative portfolio, which would be allotted several views to Mr. Vikhe-Patil.
Sudhir Mungantiwar was allotted Forest, Cultural Affairs and Fisheries Department, while former BJP state president Chandrakant Patil was given higher and technical education.
Unlike fellow BJP leaders, other ministers of the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) seem to have been allotted ‘lesser’ portfolios.
The exception in the Shinde faction was Tanaji Sawant, who was given public health and welfare; Uday Samant, who was given the industry; and Abdul Sattar, who was allotted the Agriculture Department.
Portfolio allocation is fluid: Fadnavis
Emphasizing that there was “no rift” between the two alliance partners over portfolio allocation, Mr Fadnavis said the arrangement was “not an undisputed one”.
“There is no rift between us regarding portfolio distribution. if they [the Shinde faction] feel they want something or we [the BJP] Looks like we need some portfolio, so we can easily come to an arrangement. Now that we have been given our responsibilities by the Chief Minister, it is our duty to fulfill them to the best of our ability,” Mr Fadnavis said.
He said that the next phase of cabinet expansion is the prerogative of the Chief Minister and only Shri Shinde knows when it will happen.
The first phase of the long-pending expansion of the new Maharashtra cabinet was done on August 9 with a total of 18 MLAs – nine from the Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde faction) and nine from the BJP – sworn in as ministers.