Nearly two weeks after the inclusion of Ajit Pawar, a rebel leader from the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) as Deputy Chief Minister and eight MLAs as ministers in the ruling coalition, the Maharashtra Cabinet was reshuffled on July 14 with the former getting the Finance and Planning portfolio, the same office he had during the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government.
NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal got the Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, while Dilip Walse-Patil will now oversee the Cooperation department. Dhananjay Munde will be the new Agriculture Minister replacing Shiv Sena’s Abdul Sattar, who will now handle Minority Development and Wakf, Panan.
This is the first reshuffle in his Council of Ministers by Chief Minster Eknath Shinde since he assumed charge of the top office after toppling the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government in June last.
