After days of being in limbo, the Mahayuti cabinet led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis will likely be expanded on Sunday. As many as 30-32 ministers are likely to take oath on Sunday in Nagpur, Maharashtra's winter capital, ahead of the winter session of the state legislature that is slated to begin on Monday.
The inordinate delay in cabinet expansion, caused allegedly by the disagreement with alliance partner Shiv Sena, was reportedly resolved after Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at his official residence Sagar in Mumbai on Friday night. All three coalition members deliberated closed-door to finalise the portfolios and candidates.
Mumbai, Maharashtra: Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has arrived at the Sagar Bungalow to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis pic.twitter.com/R4POk8Hopw
— IANS (@ians_india) December 13, 2024
New faces from Shiv Sena?
The Shiv Sena was allotted 12 cabinet berths. Five senior leaders, Ratnagiri MLA Uday Samant, Patan MLA Shambhuraj Desai, Jalgaon MLA Gulabrao Patil, Malegaon MLA Dada Bhuse and Digras-Darwha MLA Sanjay Rathod, will retain their seats in the new cabinet.
New faces that are likely to take oath on Sunday include Aurangabad West MLA Sanjay Shirsat, Mahad MLA Bharatsheth Gogavale, Kohlapur MLA Prakash Abitkar, Dapoli MLA Yogesh Kadam, Ramtek MLA Ashish Jaiswal and Ovala-Majiwada MLA Pratap Sarnaik.
Three former ministers Deepak Kesarkar, Tanaji Sawant and Abdul Sattar have been excluded from the Cabinet, mostly on BJP's insistence.
It is also said that the Shiv Sena will get housing and tourism departments. The home department, which Shiv Sena had been insistent on, will remain with the BJP, according to local media reports.
New formula?
There are also reports that the Chief Minister is planning on the '15:8:7' formula which will see 15 ministers of the BJP, eight of Shiv Sena and seven of Ajit Pawar-led NCP, take oath on Sunday. This is to keep the aspirants on check.
Another formula being discussed is the '10:4:4' under which 10 ministers of BJP and four each of Shiv Sena and NCP will be sworn in. While 10 out of the 40 total cabinet berths will remain vacant under the first formula, 22 seats will be vacant under the second. More talks are reportedly underway to finalise the formula.
