Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Ajit Pawar gets finance, NCP gets total 7 berths

In Maharashtra, new Cabinet ministers have been announced with Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar getting the Finance portfolio, an important ministry that he had been eyeing for long.

The Maharashtra Cabinet expansion is expected to widen the rift among leaders of Shiv Sena and BJP who are running the coalition government in the western state.

Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Who gets what

The Cabinet portfolios were assigned by Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

The Maharashtra Cabinet expansion comes almost two weeks after Ajit Pawar and eight NCP MLAs joined the Eknath Shinde-led Maharashtra government.

Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) camp has been given seven departments in the Maharashtra Cabinet expansion.

– Ajit Pawar (NCP) has been given Finance and planning portfolio
– Dilip Walse Patil (NCP) will get Cooperation ministry
– Chhagan Bhujbal (NCP) to get Food and Civic supplies
– Aditi Tatkare (NCP) has been given the charge of Women and Child Development
– Dhananjay Munde will hold Agriculture department
– Hasan Mushrif to get medical education department
– Dharmarao Atram get the charge of Food and Drug Administration department

The list has been sent by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) to Raj Bhawan for the approval of the Governor. After the Governor’s consent, the list of new Maharashtra Cabinet ministers will be forwarded to the Chief Secretary for further action.

In a surprise move, Ajit Pawar along with eight NCP MLAs took oath as ministers in Maharashtra government on July 2. This had led to a split in the Sharad Pawar-led party.

The induction of NCP leaders in the Shiv-Sena NCP coalition government had triggered a tussle over the allocation of portfolios. It is being said that the Maharashtra Cabinet expansion was delayed for weeks due to a standoff between the Ajit Pawar camp and the Eknath Shinde faction.

The Maharashtra Cabinet has nine ministers from the BJP, nine from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and nine from the NCP, apart from the chief minister and two deputy chief ministers. It can have a maximum of 43 members.

With inputs from agencies