Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Fadnavis Inducts 11 New Ministers

Six new faces belong to the BJP, two to the ally-cum-opposition Shiv Sena, and two to other allied parties.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis with Shiv Sena leader Uddhav Thackeray. (Photo: PTI)      

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inducted 11 new members into his cabinet, including ten new names. The swearing-in ceremony took place on Friday morning, ahead of the Monsoon session beginning July 18.

While no ministers have been dropped, six new faces belong to the BJP, two to the ally-cum-opposition Shiv Sena, and one each from the allied Swabhiman Shetkari Sangathan and the Rashtriya Samaj Party.

• From the BJP: Ram Shinde elevated to cabinet rank from MoS for Home Affairs; Pandurang Fundkar (Vidarbha), Subhash Deshmukh (Solapur), Jaikumar Raval (North Maharashtra), and Sambhaji Patil- Nilangekar (Marathwada) were inducted as cabinet ministers; Ravindra Chavan (Dombivli) and Madan Yerawar (Vidarbha) are now Ministers of State.
  
• From the Shiv Sena: Gulabrao Patil (Jalgaon, North Maharashtra) and Arjun Khotkar (Marathwada) were inducted as Ministers of State.
  
• From the Swabhiman Shetkari Sangathan: Sadabahu Khot was inducted as a Minister of State.
  
• From the Rashtriya Samaj Party: Mahadev Jankar took oath this morning as a Cabinet Minister.
  

The reshuffle comes following a vacancy in ten portfolios after state finance minister Eknath Khadse stepped down due to charges of financial irregularities being leveled against him. In his absence, these ten portfolios were with Fadnavis.

Uddhav Thackeray Skips Swearing-In Ceremony

Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray. (Photo: PTI)

The Shiv Sena was miffed when PM Modi announced his massive cabinet expansion without a single conversation with chief Uddhav Thackeray – let alone a berth. They boycotted the central government swearing-in ceremony, and many speculated whether the firebrand ally of the BJP in Maharashtra would sit this one out as well.

All through yesterday, meetings took place between ‘Matoshri’ and ‘Varsha’, the residences of Uddhav Thackeray and Fadnavis respectively, to negotiate the Sena’s stake in the expansion. Even though the Shiv Sena tried with much gusto to get one minister a cabinet berth, Fadnavis resisted and restricted his decision to two Sena leaders becoming Ministers of State.

Such was the tension that the conversation continued well into the night, including dinner diplomacy at a common friend’s house in Chembur. Thackeray ultimately relented, announcing Patil and Khotkar as the two names, while assuring Sena’s presence at the ceremony.

As consolation, Fadnavis promised the significant portfolio of Minister of State for Home Affairs to Sena, with considerable increase in executive powers of both ministers. 

Ahead of the BMC polls, where the Sena and the BJP are in opposition, this could be read as a move to further sideline the Sena in good time. On Wednesday, 6 July, Fadnavis told Mumbai BJP Chief Ashish Shelar that his target should be to win a majority of the votes in the BMC polls to gain sole control over the civic body.

The swearing in ceremony went smoothly; however, chief Uddhav Thackeray skipped it, seemingly to make a point of his displeasure. Fadnavis’ cabinet now has 39 ministers, with 42 being the outer limit constitutionally.