Fadnavis set to expand his cabinet on December 15 in Nagpur

Governor CP Radhakrishnan will administer oath of office to the new ministers.

MahaYuti partners have arrived at a formula for sharing cabinet berths; as a result, the BJP is expected to get 21, Shiv Sena 12 and NCP 10. The cabinet formula was finalized based on the strength of the three partners. The BJP has 132 MLAs, Shiv Sena 57 and the NCP 41. All 40 ministers from the three parties are expected to take oath on Sunday.

“The BJP is yet to get approval from the central leadership of the party for its list. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to give his nod on Saturday and the cabinet expansion will then take place on Sunday in Nagpur,” said a BJP functionary.

State BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Thursday evening met Deputy CM and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde to seek consent for swearing-in on December 15 instead of December 14. After this, Bawakule met NCP chief and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar on Friday and also took his consent for the oath-taking ceremony to be scheduled on December 15.

Earlier on Wednesday and Thursday, Fadnavis, who was accompanied by Bawankule, had held a series of meetings with the Prime Minister, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari and party leader JP Nadda. Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar met Shah on Wednesday evening over cabinet expansion, while Shinde was conspicuous by his absence.

After the cabinet expansion, Fadnavis will hold a customary tea meeting with colleagues from the cabinet and opposition parties and later he will chair the cabinet meeting to discuss the agenda, including bills which will be tabled during the winter session.

The BJP has already rejected Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde’s demand to hand over the real estate, revenue and housing departments to his party. The BJP will retain its accommodation and revenue while giving accommodation to the NCP led by Deputy CM Ajit Pawar. The BJP had promised to give accommodation to the NCP after Ajit Pawar joined the MahaYuti government in July 2023. But that did not happen, so the BJP will now fulfill its promise.

The BJP should conserve housing, revenue, energy, irrigation, public works, rural development, forests, tourism, cultural affairs, higher and technical education and welfare of the OBC. On the other hand, Shiv Sena will continue to hold urban development, industry, school education, public health, water supply, water and soil conservation and MSRDC.

In the case of the PCN, it will retain planning and finance, cooperation, food and civil supply, agriculture, medical education, women and child protection, ports and sports.

This will be the second time in the recent past after 1991 that the cabinet expansion will take place in Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra. In 1991, Chhagan Bhujbal was sworn in as a cabinet minister led by Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik after staging a rebellion against Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray over the issue of the Mandal Commission report and joining the Congress. Former governor C Subramaniam had administered oath of office and secrecy to Bhujbal.