Ahead of the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Legislature beginning on Monday, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will expand his Ministry on Sunday by inducting “eight to ten” new Ministers, including most probably the erstwhile senior Congress leader and leader of the Opposition Radhkrishna Vikhe-Patil and erstwhile NCP leader and now a Shiv Sena leader Jaydutta Kshirsagar, into his Cabinet.
Among other things, Fadnavis may drop from his Cabinet State Housing Minister Prakash Mehta of the BJP, who is facing allegations of irregularities in the permissions given by a slum rehabilitation authority (SRA) project at MP Mills compound at Tardeo in south Mumbai. Lokayukta M L Tahaliyani, who looked into the allegations against the minister, has reportedly passed strictures against Mehta.
Sunday’s expansion, which has been scheduled at 11 am at Raj Bhavan on Sunday, will be the last Cabinet restructuring that Fadnavis will undertake ahead of the State Assembly polls to be held in October this year.
Following the exit of State Food, Civil Supplies and Legislative affairs minister who resigned last week from the State Cabinet in the wake of his election to the Lok Sabha, the number of vacancies in the State Cabinet has gone up to seven.
The current strength of the Maharashtra Cabinet is 36, seven short of the stipulated 43 Ministers — a number that accounts for 15 per cent of 288 members in the State Assembly. Fadnavis may drop from his Cabinet at least three ministers, including Mehta, taking the number of vacancies to be filled to 10.
Fadnavis, who is expanding the State Cabinet after a gap of three years, may accommodate in his Cabinet “two or three” MLAs from the Shiv Sena, which is a constituent of the BJP-led saffron alliance Government.
Informed sources in the BJP said that Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, whose son Sujay quit the Congress in March this year and won the Lok Sabha polls by a margin of 2.81 lakh votes from Ahmednagar constituency on a BJP ticket, would join the Devendra Fadnavis Cabinet in Sunday’s Cabinet expansion.
Similarly, influential leader from Marathwada region Jaydutta Kshirsagar who quit the NCP and joined the ruling Shiv Sena on May 22, will be inducted into the State Cabinet.
Three other names that are making round as contenders for ministerial berths are BJP’s Mumbai unit president Ashish Shelar, Atul Save and Anil Bonde, both from the BJP, and Avinash Mahatekar of the RPI (Athavale).
Fadnavis had met BJP’s national president and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday to seek clearance for his Cabinet expansion scheduled for Sunday.
Fadnavis had earlier expanded his Cabinet on July 8, 2016, by inducting 10 more ministers and promoting one existing Minister to Cabinet rank.
The current strength of the Maharashtra Cabinet is 39, six short of the stipulated 43 ministers — a number that accounts for 15 per cent of 288 members in the State Assembly.