The long-anticipated reshuffle and expansion of Maharashtra Cabinet would take place in July, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis confirmed on Friday, exactly a year after the Sena-BJP government came to power.
On June 30, 2022, the BJP had announced that it would support Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde as the new Chief Minister with BJP leader Mr. Fadnavis, former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, as his deputy.
“Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will decide on the expansion. It is going to take place in July,” Mr. Fadnavis said. On Thursday evening, Mr. Shinde along with Mr. Fadnavis went to New Delhi to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president J.P. Nadda.
When Mr. Shinde took over as the 20th Chief Minister of the western State after toppling the now Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Uddhav Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government in June last year, 20 Ministers (10 from Mr. Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 10 from the BJP, including the CM and his deputy) were inducted into the Cabinet, and there were no women in the Council of Ministers.
Since the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly comprises 288 members, the government can have a maximum of 43 members in the Council of Ministers.
Highly placed sources in the BJP also told The Hindu that two or three MPs from Maharashtra, including a woman parliamentarian, are likely to find a place in the Union Cabinet, which could be reshuffled in July.
“They went with a list of prominent leaders to be included in the State Cabinet and suggest names of two or three leaders to be inducted in the Union Cabinet. The party might also drop a current Union Minister [MoS] from Maharashtra as his son is likely to get a berth in the State Cabinet,” he said. The Shinde-led Sena was keen on getting an equal number of berths in the Cabinet.
Meanwhile, Mr. Shinde said that they are celebrating the first anniversary in office through development work and extended gratitude to his deputy for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with him in establishing the government. “Mr. Fadnavis played a vital role in the formation of this people’s government with the ideals of Balasaheb [Thackeray] and Atalji [former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee],” he said.
The Shiv Sena leader said his government remains focused on the development and the welfare of the people.
“We are taking decisions for people’s welfare. With ₹6,000 per year from the State government [under NaMo Shetkari Mahasanman Nidhi], farmers will now get ₹12,000 annually with the Centre already giving them ₹6,000 [under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi] every year,” Mr. Shinde said.
