Maharashtra BJP chief Bawankule among first to take oath as CM Fadnavis expands cabinet

Nagpur: The cabinet expansion of the Maharashtra government led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis concluded in Nagpur on Sunday, with 39 MLAs from the BJP, Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar-led NCP taking oath at the grand ceremony. Apart from a few old faces in the Cabinet, several new faces have also been inducted into the council of ministers. Among the newly sworn-in ministers from Maharashtra were Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Chandrashekhar Bawakule, who was the first MP to take oath, followed by Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Hasan Mushrif of the NCP.

A total of 39 lawmakers from Mahayuti’s allies were sworn in on Sunday in the first cabinet expansion of the 10-day-old Devendra Fadnavis-led ministry, comprising 16 new faces, while 10 old ministers were expelled. Following the event, CM Fadnavis said the portfolios would be allotted in the next two to three days.

Notably, 33 lawmakers were sworn in as ministers on Sunday, while six were sworn in as state ministers. The new elected officials will, however, have to come to an agreement with Mahayuti’s allies who decide to conduct a “performance audit” of ministers during their mandate, Fadnavis said.

Prominent leaders who failed to find a place in the new council of ministers include BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar, senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal and Shiv Sena’s Abdul Sattar.

The council of ministers is a mix of old and new faces that reflects Fadnavis’ efforts to balance caste equations, including Marathas, OBC, SC and ST sections, and to strike a regional balance.

With the new inductees, the strength of the Fadnavis-led ministry has gone up to 42, including the CM and his deputies Eknath Shinde (Shiv Sena) and Ajit Pawar (NCP). One place remained vacant.

While the BJP got 19 ministerial berths because it is the largest among the allies, Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Ajit Pawar’s Nationalist Congress Party were allotted 11 and 9 berths respectively.

Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered oath to the new ministers at a ceremony held on the eve of the winter session of the state legislature in Nagpur.

Addressing a press conference after the cabinet expansion on the eve of the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature, Fadnavis said Mahayuti allies had agreed to conduct a “performance audit” of ministers during their mandate.

Although Fadnavis did not mention any timetable, Deputy CM and Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde said his party’s ministers would get two-and-a-half years and those who made it would move forward.

Deputy Chief Minister and NCP leader Ajit Pawar said “non-performers” could also be replaced in two-and-a-half months.

Hours before the cabinet expansion ceremony, Pawar said some of those sworn in would have a two-and-a-half-year term, highlighting the constraints faced in meeting the candidates’ aspirations.

Fadnavis said the Mahayuti government would start working for the development of Maharashtra.

“We have decided on the portfolio distribution and it will be announced in two to three days. Our administration will focus on rapid development,” he said.

Fadnavis said he and his deputies, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, had told the new ministers that they would be subjected to a performance audit.

“A performance audit of the ministers will be carried out and all three of us have agreed to this,” he said.

The CM said BJP leaders who could not find a place in the Cabinet may be given an organizational role.

Shinde said he had decided at the Shiv Sena party level to give two-and-a-half years to new ministers.

“Those who work well will progress,” he added.

The BJP, which won the maximum 132 seats in the assembly elections, got the largest share of 16 Cabinet ministers and three MoSs. Shiv Sena has been allotted nine ministerial posts and two security ministries, while the NCP will have eight cabinet-level ministers and one state minister.

Among the new inductees, four are women, including Pankaja Munde, Madhuri Misal and Meghna Bordikar of the BJP and Aditi Tatkare of the NCP.

Munde and Tatkare were sworn in as ministers, and Bordikar and Misal as MoS.

Prominent leaders excluded from the new cabinet are NCP’s Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, and BJP’s Mungantiwar and Vijaykumar Gavit.

From Shiv Sena, former ministers Tanaji Sawant, Deepak Kesarkar and Abdul Sattar were not reinstated. NCP’s Anil Patil, Sanjay Bandsode and Dharmarao Baba Atram also missed out on the second chance.

The inauguration ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur took place 33 years after the enlargement of the Sudhakarrao Naik cabinet in 1991.

The Cabinet expansion saw the return of state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Jaykumar Raval, Pankaja Munde and Ashok Uike who had served as ministers during Fadnavis’ first term from 2014-19.

At the regional level, maximum nine ministers are from Western Maharashtra region, followed by eight ministers from North Maharashtra, seven from Vidarbha, six from Marathwada, four from Mumbai/Thane region and five from coastal Konkan region .

Speaking to the press, Fadnavis slammed the opposition MVA for calling the Mahayuti government an “EVM government”.

“Our government came to power because all votes went in favor of Maharashtra. My government works according to the Constitution and upholding the dignity of the Constitution is our priority,” the chief minister said.

Fadnavis announced an SIT probe into the murder of Massajog village sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed district.

“The case has been handed over to the CID and an SIT will be set up. The culprits will be punished,” the CM said.

He said the violence in Parbhani was orchestrated and pointed out that the stone replica of the Constitution was desecrated by a mentally unstable person who was arrested.

The CM said BJP leaders who could not find a place in the Cabinet may be given an organizational role.

Fadnavis said the Mahayuti government was ready to respond to all questions raised by the opposition provided it did so in the Legislative Assembly instead of speaking to the media.