Maharashtra cabinet expanded 40 days after Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis formed the government
Maharashtra cabinet expanded 40 days after Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis formed the government
much awaited expansion of Maharashtra cabinet of BJP-Shiv Sena government Under the leadership of Eknath Shinde, 18 MLAs took oath as ministers in Mumbai on Tuesday.
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari Sworn in as ministers to 18 MLAs. The allocation of departments is yet to be announced.
The Shinde faction of the BJP and Shiv Sena has nine ministers each in the new cabinet, formed 40 days after Mr Shinde and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis were sworn in as chief minister and deputy chief minister respectively.
Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, Chandrakant Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, Vijaykumar Gavit, Mangal Prabhat Lodh, Atul Save, Ravindra Chavan and Suresh Khade took oath as ministers on behalf of the BJP in a ceremony held at the Raj Bhavan.
The Shinde faction of Shiv Sena inducted Deepak Kesarkar, Gulabrao Patil, Dada Bhuse, Tanaji Sawant, Uday Samant, Abdul Sattar, Shambhuraj Desai, Sanjay Rathod and Sandipan Bhumre in the cabinet.
The state administration had earlier on Monday issued a notice announcing that the long-pending monsoon session of the state assembly would also begin from Wednesday and would continue till August 18.
Maharashtra BJP Vice President opposes the inclusion of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rathod
BJP state vice-president Chitra Wagh opposed the inclusion of Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Rathod in the cabinet. “It is very unfortunate that Former Minister Sanjay RathodPooja became the cause of Chavan’s death, she has been given the ministerial post again. I will continue my fight against Rathod even if he becomes a minister again,” Ms Wagh said.
Mr Rathod was forced to resign as state forest minister in the then Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in 2021 after mounting pressure from the BJP for alleged links to the death of 23-year-old Pooja Chavan. had come in. Old lady from the nomadic Banjara community in Pune.
Responding to the criticism, CM Shinde said Mr Rathod was given a clean chit by the police during the previous government.
“Sanjay Rathod was given a clean chit by the police in the then MVA government. Hence, he was included in the present cabinet. If anyone else has anything to say on this, we will definitely listen to them,” the chief minister said.
‘Two-man Jumbo Cabinet’
Ever since Mr Shinde and Mr Fadnavis had led a rebellion to topple the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress government of former CM Uddhav Thackeray, pending the expansion of the state cabinet, which has been criticized for taking over power on June 30 Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction and other opposition parties including NCP.
The opposition has been criticizing Mr. Shinde and Mr. Fadnavis for running their own ‘two-member jumbo cabinet’.
PTI adds up:
17 out of 18 new ministers were already ministers
Of the 18 ministers who took oath at the Raj Bhavan ceremony, only one has become a minister for the first time.
There are no women in the list.
The new ministers include Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Rathod, who was forest minister when Uddhav Thackeray was chief minister, and was forced to resign after BJP leaders blamed him for the suicide of a woman.
The new ministers include state BJP president Chandrakant Patil (63), a two-time MLC, and a first-time MLA from western Maharashtra. He was the Minister of Revenue and PWD during 2014-19.
Girish Mahajan (62) is a BJP leader from North Maharashtra and has won the assembly elections for six consecutive terms. He is known for his close association with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis.
Sudhir Mungantiwar (60) is a six-time BJP MLA from Chandrapur district of Vidarbha. He served as the Minister of Finance and Forests during 2014-19.
Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (63) has been a seven-time MLA from Ahmednagar district. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly during 2014–19 while in Congress, but won the 2019 assembly elections on a BJP ticket.
BJP’s Ravindra Chavan (51) is a three-time MLA from Thane district. He served as the Minister of State during 2014-19.
Vijaykumar Gavit (67) is a five-time MLA who left the NCP and joined the BJP in 2014. He hails from Nandurbar district of North Maharashtra.
Atul Save (60) is the second time BJP MLA from Marathwada (District Aurangabad). He is a former minister of state.
Mangal Prabhat Lodha (66) is a five-time BJP MLA from Mumbai. He is also the president of the party’s Mumbai unit. Lodha, a prominent builder, has declared assets worth Rs 441 crore in the 2019 assembly elections, making him the richest MLA in the state.
Suresh Khade (64) is the second time BJP MLA from Sangli district of western Maharashtra. He is the Minister of State.
Gulabrao Patil (56) is a four-time Shiv Sena MLA from Jalgaon district in north Maharashtra, among the nine MLAs who took oath from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s group of Shiv Sena MLAs. He was a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government.
Uday Samant (46) is a four-time Shiv Sena MLA from Ratnagiri district, he was a minister in the MVA government.
Sandipan Bhumre (59) is a five-time Shiv Sena MLA from Aurangabad district of Marathwada. He was a cabinet minister in the previous government.
Dada Bhuse (58) is a four-time Shiv Sena MLA from Nashik district of North Maharashtra. He was a minister in the MVA government.
Shambhuraj Desai (55) is a three-time Shiv Sena MLA from Satara district. He was a junior minister in the MVA government.
Sanjay Rathod (51) is a four-time Shiv Sena MLA from Yavatmal district.
Tanaji Sawant (58) is the first time Shiv Sena MLA from Osmanabad district. He is a former member of the Legislative Council and a former minister.
Abdul Sattar (54) is a three-time MLA from Marathwada. He was with Congress in his first two terms and joined Shiv Sena in 2019.
Deepak Kesarkar (67) is a three-time MLA from Shiv Sena. He hails from Sindhudurg district and is a former minister of state.