Team Fadnavis is here: Expanded Maharashtra cabinet a mix of old and new faces

Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule takes oath as a state cabinet Minister during the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan, in Nagpur, on Sunday. Pic/PTI

A total of 39 legislators from the Mahayuti allies were sworn in on Sunday as part of the first cabinet expansion of the 10-day-old Devendra Fadnavis-led government, with 16 new faces, while 10 former ministers were excluded.

According to news agency PTI, just hours before the cabinet expansion ceremony, Deputy Chief Minister (CM) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar stated that some of the newly sworn-in ministers would serve a tenure of two-and-a-half years, highlighting the challenges in accommodating the aspirations of all hopefuls.

Of the 39 inductees, 33 were sworn in as cabinet ministers, and six took the oath as ministers of state.

The new council of ministers reflects CM Fadnavis' efforts to balance caste representation, including Marathas, Other Backward Classes (OBCs), Scheduled Castes (SCs), and Scheduled Tribes (STs), as well as regional representation across Maharashtra.

With the inclusion of these new ministers, the strength of the Fadnavis-led cabinet has risen to 42, including the CM and his deputies, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Pawar. One cabinet position remains vacant, PTI reported.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as the largest alliance partner with 132 seats in the Maharashtra Assembly, secured 19 ministerial positions: 16 cabinet berths and three ministers of state. The Shiv Sena received 11 berths, while NCP was allotted nine.

Pankaja Munde, Aditi Tatkare among four women ministers

Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers at a ceremony held on the eve of the state legislature's winter session in Nagpur. The allocation of portfolios is awaited.

The cabinet expansion saw the re-entry of key leaders who had served in Fadnavis' first term from 2014 to 2019, including BJP leaders Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Jaykumar Raval, Pankaja Munde, and Ashok Uike.

The four women ministers who were sworn in on Sunday included Munde, Madhuri Misal, and Meghna Bordikar from BJP, and Aditi Tatkare from NCP.

Munde and Tatkare took the oath as cabinet ministers, while Bordikar and Misal were sworn in as ministers of state.

Prominent leaders who have been excluded from the new cabinet include Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil of NCP, as well as Sudhir Mungantiwar and Vijaykumar Gavit of BJP. From the Shiv Sena, former ministers Tanaji Sawant, Deepak Kesarkar, and Abdul Sattar were not re-inducted. Anil Patil, Sanjay Bandsode, and Dharmarao Baba Atram of NCP also missed out on the opportunity.

The swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur marked a historic moment, as it was the first such event in the city in 33 years. The last cabinet expansion held in Nagpur took place in 1991 under CM Sudhakarrao Naik, who inducted Shiv Sena rebels Chhagan Bhujbal and Rajendra Gole into his government. The event was attended by then Governor C Subramanium.

Nine from western Maharashtra, seven from Vidarbha take oath

In terms of regional representation, a majority (nine) of the new ministers come from western Maharashtra. They are Madhuri Misal, Makrand Patil, Shivendrasinh Bhosale, Hasan Mushrif, Chandrakant Patil, Shambhuraj Desai, Prakash Abitkar, Jaykumar Gore, and Datta Bharne. North Maharashtra follows closely with eight ministers, including prominent leaders such as Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, and Sanjay Savkare.

The Vidarbha region is represented by seven ministers, including Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Sanjay Rathod, Akash Fundkar, Ashok Uike, Indranil Naik, Ashish Jaiswal, and Pankaj Bhoyar while six represent the Marathwada region, including Pankaja Munde (BJP), her cousin Dhananjay (NCP), Atul Save, Sanjay Shirsat, Meghana Bordikar, and Babasaheb Patil.

From the Mumbai/Thane region, prominent leaders such as Ganesh Naik, Ashish Shelar, Pratap Sarnaik, and Mangal Prabhat Lodha have been inducted into the cabinet. The coastal Konkan region is represented by five ministers, including Nitesh Rane, Uday Samant, Yogesh Kadam, Bharat Gogawale, and Tatkare.

Among the first-time inductees are Kadam, Bordikar, Misal, Bhoyar, Shivendrasinh Bhosale, Manikrao Kokate, Jaykumar Gore, Narhari Zirwal, Sarnaik, Bharat Gogawale, Makrand Patil, Rane, Fundkar, Babasaheb Patil, Prakash Abitkar, and Sanjay Savkare.

The induction of Babasaheb Patil, from NCP, marks a significant development, as it ensures representation for the Ahmadpur constituency in Latur district after 20 years. Patil, who won the seat in the November 20 Maharashtra Assembly Elections, has become a cabinet minister for the first time.

In 2009, Patil was elected for the first time from Ahmadpur on the Rashtriya Samaj Paksha ticket. In 2014, he unsuccessfully contested the election on the ticket of the undivided NCP. He won the 2019 elections.

(With PTI inputs)