Fadnavis Cabinet takes oath in Nagpur, BJP gets 19 of 39 berths
The Cabinet expansion of the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government in Maharashtra took place at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur on Sunday with 39 leaders taking oath as ministers.
While 33 lawmakers were sworn in as Cabinet ministers, six took oath as ministers of state in the presence of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP and Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar of the NCP.
Bawankule, Munde make the cut
- 33 lawmakers sworn in as Cabinet ministers, 6 as ministers of state
- Among BJP ministers are state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, Shirdi strongman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Pankaja Munde, daughter of the late Gopinath Munde
Bhujbal not part of list
The prominent absentees from the ministerial list include the NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil and the BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar
Swearing-in at Nagpur after 33 years
The swearing-in was held in Maharashtra’s second capital for the first time in 33 years. The last such event was the Cabinet expansion of the Sudhakarrao Naik dispensation in 1991.
While the BJP, the largest party in the winning alliance, bagged 19 berths today, Shinde’s Sena got 11 and the NCP nine. Among the BJP ministers are state unit president Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar, veteran leader and Shirdi strongman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Pankaja Munde, daughter of the late Gopinath Munde. The prominent absentees from the ministerial list include the NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil and the BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar.
From the NCP, Aditi Tatkare, the daughter of senior party leader and NCP Rajya Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare, has made it to the ministerial list.
Ajit Pawar on Sunday said those who had been left out would also be given a chance after two and a half years. “We will give an opportunity to others also for two and a half years,” Pawar said while addressing his party workers in Nagpur before the Cabinet expansion today.
The Maharashtra Cabinet can have 43 ministers and with today’s expansion reached the count of 42 as Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar had taken oath 10 days ago.
The ruling NDA had swept the November 20 Assembly polls in Maharashtra, bagging 230 of the 288 seats in the state — a four-fifths majority. The BJP won 132, Shiv Sena 57 and the NCP 41.
Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to the new ministers. The winter session of the Assembly will be held in Nagpur from December 16 to 21.
The Maha Vikas Aghadi of the Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP-SP today said it would not attend the tea party the government was hosting on the session eve.
The swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan of Nagpur was held here after 33 years.
In 1991, the Sudhakarrao Naik-led government had expanded the Cabinet in a ceremony at the Nagpur Raj Bhavan, when he had included in his ministry Shiv Sena rebels Chhagan Bhujbal and Rajendra Gole, who had switched over to the ruling Congress.
Fadnavis said portfolios would be allocated in the next two to three days. Addressing a press conference after 39 legislators of Mahayuti took oath as ministers, Fadnavis said Mahayuti allies had agreed to conduct a “performance audit” of ministers during their tenure.
