Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday expanded his Cabinet by inducting 10 more Ministers and promoting one existing Minister to Cabinet rank, in an exercise that disappointed the ruling Shiv Sena which got only two Ministers of State posts as against one Cabinet-ranked berth and a Minister of State post.
While the Shiv Sena had rooted for one Cabinet berth and a Minister of State post, a firm Fadnavis vetoed the Sena’s clamour on the ground that there would not be any sort of dilution in the Ministerial berth-sharing understanding it had reached with its junior ally joined the BJP-led saffron alliance Government in December 2014.
In an apparent indication that all is not exactly well between the ruling saffron alliance partners, Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony held in the Central Hall of the Maharashtra legislature.
Maharashtra Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao administered the oath of office and secrecy to six Cabinet Ministers and five Ministers of State.
The six Cabinet-ranked Ministers, who were sworn into office, were, Pandurang Fundkar, Prof Ram Shinde, Jaykumar Rawal, Sambhaji Nilangekar-Patil, Subhash Deshmukh, all from BJP, and Mahadev Jankar, from ally Rashtriya Samaj Paksha.
Of the six Cabinet ranked Ministers administered oath of office and secrecy, Prof Ram Shinde was earlier in the Fadnavis Cabinet as a Minister of State. He has now been promoted to the Cabinet rank.
The five Ministers of State, who were administered oath of office, were, Arjun Khotkar, Ghulabrao Patil, both from Shiv Sena, Ravindra Chavan, Madan Yerawar, both from BJP and Sadabhau Khot, from ally Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana.
Friday’s expansion was necessitated by the recent resignation of senior BJP Minister Eknath Khadse, who had to quit over allegations of corruption, land-grab and links with the Karachi-based underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, and the fact that the chief minister had delayed such a re-jig of his Ministry for nearly seven months. Fadnavis had attempted a Cabinet in December 2015 but dropped the plan at the last moment.
Khadse had held as many 10 portfolios, including Revenue, Agriculture, Excise, Relief and Rehabilitation, Minority affairs, Waqf, Animal husbandry, Milk production, Fisheries and Earthquake rehabilitation.
Notwithstanding a vehement clamour for a Ministerial berth from Shivsangram Sanghatana, a constituent of the BJP-led saffron alliance Government, the Chief Minister chose not to induct its leader Vinayak Mete in his Cabinet.
An upset Mete hit out at the BJP for denying him a berth in the State Cabinet. “The BJP has not kept its word. In fact, I have been taken for a ride by the BJP,” Mete said, as he stayed away from the swearing-in ceremony.
With the induction of ten more Ministers, the strength of the Maharashtra Cabinet has gone up to 39, six short of the stipulated 43 Ministers — a number that accounts for 15 per cent of 288 members in the Assembly.
One of the notable inductions into the State Cabinet is that of senior BJP leader Pandurang Fundkar. A contemporary of Khadse who resigned from the State Cabinet last month, Fundkar was the BJP’s Maharashtra unit president for a few years. He was also the leader of the Opposition in the State legislative Council.
In Friday’s Cabinet rejig, Fadnavis has elevated Prof Ram Shinde from Minister of State to Cabinet-ranked minister. Coming from rural constituency of Karjat-Jamkhed in Ahmednagar district, Prof Shinde was earlier Minister of State for Home (Rural area).
Sources in the BJP said that between Sena’s two new junior Ministers — Arjun Khotkar and Ghulabrao Patil, one might get Minister of State (Home) portfolio.