The Shiv Sena, which is now in power in Maharashtra under Eknath Shinde, said on Thursday that the state cabinet’s enlargement is most likely to occur on July 14 despite disagreements over the distribution of key portfolios.
Ajit Pawar, an NCP renegade and the second deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, has reportedly been given the cabinet’s finance job. Later today, the formal portfolio allocation will be revealed.
Sanjay Shirsat, a spokesman for the Shinde faction of the Shiv Sena, said on Thursday that it is “99%” probable that the portfolio distribution and cabinet enlargement will take place on Friday. However, he claimed that it will be done at a “appropriate time” in a statement made with his party colleague and fellow minister Uday Samant.
Shiv Sena’s Uddhav Thackeray faction has raised concerns over the inclusion of MLAs from the Shinde camp in the new administration.
LATEST UPDATES FOR MAHARASHTRA CABINET EXPANSION
The NCP also has the following portfolios:
Dilip Walse Patil on cooperation
Hassan Mushrif, minorities
Getting Around – Baba Atram
Chhagan Bhujbal, Agriculture
Aditi Tatkare’s Women and Child Development
Justice for everyone – Dhananjay Munde
Sanjay Bansode, Youth Affairs
Anil Patil, “Food and Civil Supplies”
According to sources, Ajit Pawar has been given the vital finance ministry, News18 reported on Thursday.
The Shiv Sena is said to have objected to the NCP’s insistence on the finance and water resources portfolios during the dispute over portfolio distribution, according to a PTI report.
It would be challenging for the BJP to please everyone, according to Ambadas Danve, the leader of the opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council and a member of the Shiv Sena’s Uddhav group. “There is an imbalance between the number of MLAs seeking ministerial positions and the actual openings. The BJP employees are quite dissatisfied,” he remarked.
Danve said that the BJP would have difficulties in allocating positions because of the widespread dissatisfaction among party members after the NCP merger.
When will the next round of cabinet enlargement occur because (to the NCP MLAs who took the oath as ministers) no portfolios have yet been assigned? The new costume they went to seems like it will go unused,” he said.
Sanjay Raut, the head of the Shiv Sena (UBT), continued by saying it was unlikely that the cabinet will be expanded. “Since all of the Ajit Pawar faction’s ministers are power players who have held deputy chief minister and home minister positions, they will need to be assigned responsibilities of that caliber. The Shinde group, on the other hand, will have to make do with nothing, he claimed.
Ajit Pawar’s second deputy has been assigned the finance ministry, sources said News18 on Thursday.
The portfolios from the Shinde group are also being considered for the reshuffle, according to sources, upsetting the Shinde faction.
