NCP gets Finance, Congress Revenue portfolios in Uddhav-led Maharashtra Govt
In the distribution of portfolios carried out nearly a fortnight after assuming the office, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray’s party Shiv Sena on Thursday retained crucial portfolios of Home, Urban Development and relatively not so important Ministries of Industry and Higher and Technical Education.
While Uddhav himself will not hold any portfolio, he allocated the portfolios of Home and Urban Development — as also other portfolios like Forests, Environment, Water Supply & Sanitation, Water Conservation, Tourism, PWD (Public work undertakings), Legislative Affairs and Welfare of retired Army men — to his party’s senior Minister Eknath Shinde.
Sena’s another senior Minister Subhash Desai is the Industry, Higher and Technical Education Minister. He will also hold portfolios like sports and youth welfare, agriculture, transport, employment guarantee, etc.
NCP’s Jayant Patil is the new Finance Minister. He will also hold portfolios like housing, public health, labour, minorities development.
NCP’s another Minister Chhagan Bhujbal is the new rural development Minister. He will also hold portfolios like water resources, social justice, food and drugs, and other responsibilities.
Congress’ Balasaheb Thorat is the new Revenue Minister. He will hold portfolios like the power, medical education, school education, animal husbandry, milk and fisheries, etc.
His colleague Nitin Raut will head public works department (excluding public undertakings), tribal welfare, women and child development, textiles, relief & rehabilitation and all backward classes.
Uddhav and six of his Ministers in the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress front “Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVS) Government — Eknath Shinde, Subhash Desai (both from the Shiv Sena), Jayant Patil, Chhagan Bhujbal (both from the NCP), Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut (both from the Congress) — were sworn into office on November 28.
Thursday’s distribution of portfolios is a temporary arrangement pending the expansion of the State Cabinet likely to be undertaken either ahead of the Winter Session of the Maharashtra Legislature beginning in Nagpur from December 16 or after the Session.