Ahead of winter session, Maharashtra prepares for cabinet expansion

The Maharashtra Council of Ministers can accommodate up to 43 members, including Chief Minister Fadnavis and his two deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, who took charge on December 5. Photo credit: ANI

The cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government is set to take place on December 15, with new ministers from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) set to take oath. office at a ceremony in Nagpur, official sources said.

The expansion comes as the ruling coalition seeks to finalize its power-sharing formula ahead of the winter session of the state legislative assembly, which begins on December 16 in Nagpur, Maharashtra’s second capital.

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According to sources, more than 30 MPs are expected to take oath as ministers during the ceremony. The Maharashtra Council of Ministers can accommodate up to 43 members, including Chief Minister Fadnavis, and his two deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, who took charge on December 5. Mr. Shinde, initially reluctant to take up the deputy chief minister’s post to concentrate on party affairs, agreed to join the cabinet after lengthy discussions among his allies and lawmakers.

Before the expansion, top coalition leaders held several rounds of deliberations to finalize ministerial allocations. State BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule met Mr. Shinde and Mr. Pawar on Friday (December 13, 2024) to iron out details, while Mr. Pawar held separate consultations with NCP leaders at his residence in Mumbai.

Sources say the BJP is expected to get around 20 ministerial posts, while the Shiv Sena may get 11 to 12 and the NCP, nine to 10. However, differences persist, with the Shiv Sena reportedly pushing for Mr. Shinde obtains the real estate portfolio. a request which Mr Fadnavis is said to have resisted. When he was chief minister between 2014 and 2019 and then again deputy chief minister in the previous Shinde-led government. Mahayuti government, Mr. Fadnavis had kept the Interior portfolio with him.

THE Mahayuti The alliance won a decisive victory in the November 20 legislative elections, winning 230 of 288 seats. The BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats, followed by the Shiv Sena with 57 and the NCP with 41.

“Mr Fadnavis is very particular that a few Shiv Sena MPs should not be part of his cabinet for various reasons, a message he had conveyed to Mr Shinde,” said a senior BJP leader. The Hindu.

Despite the electoral success, the formation of the coalition faced initial obstacles, notably the departure of Mr Shinde to make way for Mr Fadnavis as head of government. Since then, the Shiv Sena has sought to give Mr. Shinde and other leaders a prominent role in the cabinet, reflecting the complexity of managing a three-party alliance.