The Maharashtra cabinet portfolios were announced on Saturday, almost two weeks after the oath ceremony. The former government’s chief minister and current Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was given three ministries: Public Works, Housing and Urban Development, but not the Home portfolio, which he was reportedly interested in.
The crucial State Excise and Finance Ministry portfolios were given to Ajit Pawar, the second Deputy Chief Minister.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is going to keep positions in the ministries of law and judiciary, general administration, information and publicity, energy (excluding renewable energy) and other departments and subjects that are not open to other ministers.
The portfolios went out following the conclusion of the state Legislature’s week-long winter session. The cabinet led by Devendra Fadnavis has 42 members, compared to the 43 allowed by legislative norms.
State Minister Girish Mahajan stated that “he believes a unanimous decision has been reached” between Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his Deputies over portfolio distribution just hours before the major announcement.
Of the 288 assembly seats in the state, the opposition’s Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance of Congress, Uddhav Thackeray’s Sena faction and Sharad Pawar’s NCP faction were only able to secure 46 seats, while the Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) secured over 230.
On December 5, Fadnavis and his aides, Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, took office and on December 15, 39 ministers were sworn in.
The Maharashtra legislature’s winter session, according to opposition parties, was only a formality because ministers were unable to address the concerns of farmers and others without portfolios.
Uddhav Thackeray party leader Aaditya Thackeray criticised the Devendra Fadnavis-led government, calling the portfolio allocation delay “a joke” and claiming that politicians have received their benefits but no responsibility.
“All ministers got bungalows and cars but no responsibility. A joke is going on. No one wants to serve,” he told a section of the media.
Other Ministers Got What?
The portfolios allocated to BJP ministers are as follows: Chandrashekhar Bawankule (Revenue), Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (Water Resources – Krishna and Godavari Valley Development Corporation), Chandrakant Patil (Higher and Technical Education, Parliamentary Affairs), Girish Mahajan (Water Resources – Vidarbha, Tapi, Konkan Development Corporation and Disaster Management).
Ganesh Naik has been given Forests, Mangal Prabhat Lodha (Skill Development, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation), Jaykumar Raval (Marketing and Protocol), Pankaja Munde (Environment and Climate Change, Animal Husbandry), Atul Save (OBC Welfare, Dairy Development and Renewable Energy).
Ashok Uike has been assigned Tribal Development, Ashish Shelar (Cultural Affairs and Information Technology) and Shivendrasinh Bhosale (Public Works).
Jaykumar Gore has been given Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Sanjay Savkare (Textiles), Nitesh Rane (Fisheries and Ports) and Akash Fundkar (Labour).
The portfolios for Shiv Sena Ministers are: Gulabrao Patil (Water Supply and Sanitation), Dadaji Bhuse (School Education), Sanjay Rathod (Soil and Water Conservation), Uday Samant (Industries and Marathi Language), Shambhuraj Desai (Tourism, Mining, Ex-servicemen Welfare), Sanjay Shirsat (Social Justice), Pratap Sarnaik (Transport), Bharat Gogawale (Employment Guarantee, Horticulture, Salt Pan Lands Development), Prakash Abitkar (Public Health and Family Welfare).
The NCP ministers’ portfolios include: Hasan Mushrif (Medical Education), Dhananjay Munde (Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection), Dattatrey Bharne (Sports, Youth Welfare and Minority Development and Aukaf), Aditi Tatkare (Women and Child Development), Manikrao Kokate (Agriculture).
Narhari Zirwal has been allocated Food and Drug Administration and Special Assistance, while Makrand Patil will oversee Relief and Rehabilitation. Babasaheb Patil has been given Cooperation.
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