Maharashtra: Ministers sworn in at Nagpur's Raj Bhavan for first time since 1991

Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the ministers in the presence of CM Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur on Sunday. Pic/PTI

In a historic move, 39 ministers were sworn in at Raj Bhavan on Sunday, marking it the first such event in Maharashtra's second capital in 33 years, news agency PTI reported. The last cabinet expansion held in Nagpur took place in 1991 under the leadership of then Chief Minister Sudhakarrao Naik, when he expanded his council of ministers by inducting Shiv Sena rebels Chhagan Bhujbal and Rajendra Gole, who had shifted allegiance to the Congress.

The ministers were then administered the oath of office by Governor C Subramanium, in a ceremony where Congress' Beed legislator Jaidutt Kshirsagar was also inducted. Bhujbal, a prominent name in Maharashtra politics, was notably dropped in the Devendra Fadnavis government when the new cabinet was formed on Sunday.

Naik served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra from June 1991 to February 1993, and later, under the leadership of Madhukarrao Chaudhary, the group of 12 Shiv Sena rebels, including Bhujbal and Gole, were merged with the Congress. However, both Bhujbal and Gole were defeated in the 1995 assembly elections from Mazgaon (Mumbai) and Buldhana, respectively.

Meanwhile, the expansion of the new cabinet of Devendra Fadnavis comes 10 days after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance government was formed. With the swearing-in of 39 new ministers, the total strength of the government now stands at 42, after including CM Fadnavis and his deputies Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar. BJP took the lion's share of the cabinet positions with 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Shinde-led Shiv Sena and nine for NCP.

Of the 39 ministers sworn in, 33 have been appointed as cabinet ministers, while six will serve as ministers of state. The swearing-in ceremony took place on the eve of the state legislature's winter session, which is scheduled to be held in Nagpur from Monday. Chief Minister Fadnavis, Shinde and Pawar were present at the event.

Meanwhile, hours before the cabinet expansion, the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) announced its intention to boycott the customary tea party held on the eve of the legislature's winter session. MVA leaders, comprising the Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), NCP (Sharadchandra Pawar), and Congress, convened a press conference at Ravi Bhavan in Nagpur, where they targeted the BJP-led government over a range of issues, including the plight of farmers, rising prices, unemployment, and the recent murder of a sarpanch.

(With PTI inputs)