Fadnavis to Enhance Cabinet on December 15 in Nagpur

Mumbai, Dec 13 (NationPress) Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is preparing to enhance his cabinet on December 15 in Nagpur instead of December 14 in Mumbai. A senior official from the BJP has verified that the oath-taking ceremony will take place at Raj Bhavan on December 15, in anticipation of a week-long winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature that begins on December 16.

The Governor CP Radhakrishnan will administer the oath of office to the newly appointed ministers.

The partners of MahaYuti have reached an agreement regarding the allocation of cabinet positions; as per the arrangement, the BJP is projected to acquire 21, Shiv Sena 12, and NCP 10. This cabinet arrangement has been established based on the strength of the three coalition partners. The BJP holds 132 legislative seats, Shiv Sena 57, and NCP 41. All 40 ministers from these three parties are expected to take the oath on Sunday.

"The BJP is still awaiting approval from the party's central leadership regarding its ministerial list. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is anticipated to grant approval on Saturday, after which the cabinet expansion will occur on Sunday in Nagpur," stated a BJP official.

The state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule met with Deputy CM and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde on Thursday evening to seek his agreement for the swearing-in ceremony on December 15 instead of December 14. Following that, Bawankule met with NCP chief and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Friday to secure his consent for the swearing-in event to be scheduled for December 15.

Earlier on Wednesday and Thursday, Fadnavis, accompanied by Bawankule, had a series of discussions with PM, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari, and party head JP Nadda. Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met with Shah regarding the cabinet expansion on Wednesday night, while Shinde was notably absent.

Post cabinet expansion, Fadnavis will host a traditional tea meeting with cabinet members and opposition parties, followed by a cabinet meeting to deliberate on the agenda, including bills to be presented during the winter session.

The BJP has declined Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde's request for the home, revenue, and housing departments to be assigned to his party. The BJP will retain home and revenue departments while assigning housing to the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar. The BJP had previously committed to providing housing to the NCP upon Ajit Pawar's entry into the MahaYuti government in July 2023, a promise that is now being fulfilled.

The BJP is expected to maintain control over home, revenue, energy, irrigation, public works, rural development, forest, tourism, cultural affairs, higher and technical education, and OBC welfare. Conversely, Shiv Sena will continue to manage urban development, industry, school education, public health, water supply, water and soil conservation, and MSRDC.

As for the NCP, it will oversee planning and finance, cooperation, food and civil supply, agriculture, medical education, women and child welfare, ports, and sports.

This cabinet expansion marks the second occurrence in recent history, following 1991, when a cabinet expansion was conducted in Nagpur, Maharashtra's second capital. In 1991, Chhagan Bhujbal was sworn in as a minister in the cabinet led by Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik after he rebelled against Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray regarding the Mandal Commission report and joined the Congress. The former governor C Subramaniam administered the oath of office and secrecy to Bhujbal.