09 Aug , 2022 By : Monika Singh
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will expand his two-member Cabinet on Tuesday, 41 days after the Chief Minister and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis took oath on June 30. While Shinde was sworn in as the new chief minister of Maharashtra, Fadnavis reluctantly settled for the post of Deputy CM after a nudge from the central BJP leadership.
Shinde told reporters in Nanded on Monday that the cabinet expansion is slated for Tuesday. The ceremony will be held at the Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai at 11 am, an aide of Shinde told PTI on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, CM Shinde met Shiv Sena legislators backing him at the Sahyadri guest house in south Mumbai on Tuesday morning ahead of the Cabinet expansion. Shinde is backed by 40 of the 55 Shiv Sena MLAs.
A total of 18 ministers are likely to be sworn in, a former minister told PTI on condition of anonymity. This will include nine each from the Shinde group and BJP, he added. This would take the strength of the Maharashtra Cabinet to 20, less than half the sanctioned strength of 43 ministers.
More ministers will be inducted in the next round of expansion which is likely to be undertaken once the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra legislative assembly concludes on August 18. The session is set to get underway today.
Shinde, who emerged as a surprise choice over Fadnavis for the CM’s post after successfully leading a rebellion of a large faction of Shiv Sena MLAs with him in June, will have to make a tightrope walk in order to accommodate all of them in the ministry, sources said.
Among probable ministers from the Shinde group are Bharat Gogawale and Shambhuraj Desai. From the BJP, state party chief Chandrakant Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Suresh Khade and Atul Save are likely to be inducted, party sources said.
The expansion comes after at least seven visits by the CM to New Delhi in the last one month, and with every visit there was talk that the ministry expansion was around the corner.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar said Shinde had promised a ministerial berth to every MLA who joined him.
“Now Shinde is unable to fulfil his promise, hence the delay in cabinet expansion. The chief minister should disclose reasons for the delay,” Pawar said.
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