Maharashtra: Shinde Cabinet Sees 12 Ministers Excluded, 25 Fresh Faces Appointed
Click to start listening
Nagpur, Dec 15 (NationPress) A total of 12 Cabinet ministers from the Eknath Shinde-led council of ministers in Maharashtra have not secured ministerial positions in the Cabinet expansion led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The ministers who have been excluded from the Cabinet include Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ravindra Chavan, Vijaykumar Gavit, and Suresh Khadse (BJP), alongside Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse Patil, Dharmaraobaba Atram, Anil Patil, and Sanjay Bansode (NCP), as well as Tanaji Sawant, Abdul Sattar, and Deepak Kesarkar (Shiv Sena).
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis remarked that an assessment of each minister's performance would be conducted, stating that those from the BJP who were not included would be given different responsibilities.
“Some ministers were omitted due to their performance in the Eknath Shinde-led Cabinet. Regarding the inclusion of aspirants from Shiv Sena and NCP, it was not feasible for various reasons. They may have opportunities in the future. Nevertheless, one ministerial position remains vacant,” he noted.
In contrast, 25 new faces have been inducted in the Cabinet expansion, including Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Ganesh Naik, Jaykumar Rawal, Pankaja Munde, Ashok Uike, Ashish Shelar, Dattatreya Bharne, Shivendraraje Bhosale, Manikrao Kokate, Jaykumar Gore, Narhari Jirwal, Sanjay Savkare, Sanjay Shirsat, Pratap Sarnaik, Bharat Gogavale, Makarand Patil, Nitesh Rane, Akash Fundkar, Babasaheb Patil, Prakash Abitkar, Madhuri Misal, Ashish Jaiswal, Pankaj Bhoyar, Meghna Bordikar, and Indranil Naik.
Among the 39 ministers who took their oaths, four women legislators have been included: Pankaja Munde, who previously served as the minister of women and child welfare in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Cabinet from 2014 to 2019, along with Madhuri Misal and Meghana Bordikar (BJP), and Aditi Tatkare (NCP), who played a role in the implementation of the flagship Ladki Bahin Yojana prior to the state assembly election.
However, no women legislators from Shiv Sena have been included in this expansion.
Meanwhile, BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP have established a two-and-a-half-year plan for the ministers inducted into the council today.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar mentioned that the MahaYuti partners have agreed to this formula to allow the introduction of new faces in the Cabinet after two and a half years.
(Sanjay Jog can be reached at sanjay.j@ians.in)
