After Flip-Flops, Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion Tomorrow; Fadnavis May Get Home
By: News Desk
Last Updated: August 08, 2022, 15:58 IST
Mumbai, India
CM Eknath Shinde (left) and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis (right) of the BJP took oath on June 30. Currently, they are the only members of the Maharashtra cabinet. (File photo/PTI)
The Maharashtra cabinet expansion will take place place tomorrow around 11 am at Raj Bhavan as the Monsoon Session of the state assembly will begin from August 10
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Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde will expand his cabinet tomorrow around 11 am at Raj Bhavan as the Monsoon Session of the state assembly will begin from August 10, according to the order issued in this regard. Former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis likely to get the home portfolio, sources have said.
Shinde and Fadnavis, who have been functioning as a two-member cabinet, were in Delhi over the weekend and attended a NITI Aayog meeting along with 22 ministers.
Shinde and Fadnavis were sworn in as chief minister and deputy chief minister on June 30 after Uddhav Thackeray resigned due to a rebellion in the Shiv Sena.
On Saturday, CM Shinde said the functioning of the Maharashtra government has not been affected in any way due to the delay in the expansion of the council of ministers and that more ministers will be inducted soon.
"The work of the government has not been affected in any way. The decision-making process has not been affected. I and the deputy chief minister have been taking decisions and there is no impact on the working of the government," the CM said in New Delhi. Fadnavis said the BJP has embarked on a mission to improve its footprint in Maharashtra in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by identifying 16 parliamentary constituencies where opposition parties have had a consistent winning streak.
Top sources in the BJP said one of the reasons for the delay in expansion is the aspirations of the Eknath Shinde group. While cabinet berths to those Shiv Sena MLAs who were sitting ministers is decided, there are others who are eyeing some posts and the strategy being adopted to deal with this section is 'Thanda Kariye' — cooling down their aspirations — as a delaying tactic.
Sources within the Shinde camp said there is a broad understanding that those who walked out as ministers will get cabinet berths. There are 40 Sena MLAs and 10 independents who had left Uddhav's cabinet. It is expected that the Shinde group will get 14-15 berths in the first cabinet expansion.
(With inputs from PTI)
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