Maharashtra cabinet expansion and portfolio allocations were discussed in a late-night meeting between chief minister Eknath Shinde and his deputies Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar. The meeting that reportedly lasted for one-and-and-a-half-hours took place at CM’s ‘Varsha’ bungalow.
According to the buzz in the Maharashtra political circles, some sitting ministers may have to part with their portfolios. Ajit Pawar himself is likely to get the revenue department.
Sources told News18 that a cabinet expansion may happen anytime in the next two days. Ten new ministers are likely to be inducted, including Sanjay Shirsat and Bharat Gogawale.
Some MLAs, in a meeting with CM Shinde, said that the caste equation should be taken into account while inducting new legislators in the cabinet, the sources said.
Several legislators were of the opinion that leaders like Uday Samant, Dada Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Shambhuraj Desai, Abdul Sattar, and Deepak Kesarkar were given responsibility as a cabinet minister or state minister either in 2014, 2019, and 2022. So this time new faces should be inducted into the cabinet and portfolios of senior ministers should be given to new faces.
The situation in the BJP is also somewhat tumultuous, said sources. Though dissent in the party is not as visible as in Shiv Sena, many leaders are keen to know whether they will get cabinet berths this time or not.
According to some leaders, BJP MLAs like Sanjay Kute, Madhuri Misal, Ashish Shelar, and Nitesh Rane are some names of probables who may get cabinet berths or responsibilities as ministers of state in a cabinet expansion.
A revolt by Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde and 39 other MLAs against the party leadership in June last year led to a split in the party and collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-headed Maha Vikas Aghadi government.
Shinde later became the chief minister with the BJP’s support. On July 2 this year, Ajit Pawar led a split in the NCP, founded by Sharad Pawar, and joined the Shinde-BJP government as deputy chief minister. Eight other NCP MLAs also took oath as ministers in the state cabinet.
Congress in a Huddle
Maharashtra Congress leaders, meanwhile, are in Delhi and are scheduled to meet Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge and senior leader Rahul Gandhi at 11 am. The leader will discuss key issues about the state, internal issues and mull over what stand should the party take in the coming months.
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