Maharashtra cabinet: Fadnavis gets home & finance; Shinde keeps urban development

Days after the Maharashtra cabinet expansion, portfolios have been allocated to ministers, with chief minister Eknath Shinde keeping the urban development ministry and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis getting the home, finance, water resources, housing and power departments.

Shinde, who expanded his two-member cabinet on August 9 by inducting 18 ministers, also kept the public works (public projects) and transport departments.

Also read: Maharashtra: Shinde faction-BJP fight over cabinet berths?

BJP gets plum portfolios

A statement from the chief minister’s office said Fadnavis will also handle the planning ministry and BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil will be the new revenue minister.

BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar has been made the forest minister, a portfolio he handled earlier.

Former state BJP president Chandrakant Patil is the new minister for higher and technical education, He will also look after parliamentary affairs.

From the Eknath Shinde camp of Shiv Sena rebels, Shiv Sena MLA Tanaji Sawant is the new state health minister. Other Sena MLAs Abdul Satar and Deepak Kesarkar have been allocated the agriculture, and school education departments, respectively. Gulabrao Patil is the new water supply and sanitation minister, while Sanjay Rathore will head the food and drug administration department.

BJP’s Girish Mahajan is the new sports and youth welfare minister, and will also look after village development and panchayati raj, and medical education departments. BJP MLA Vijayakumar Gavit will handle tribal development and Sena MLA Uday Samant is the new industry minister.

Balancing act

The Shinde-Fadnavis balancing act came after multiple Delhi visits by the two leaders. Nine members from each side have been sworn in. The state cabinet has a total of 43 berths and more members are set to be added later.

Shinde’s cabinet expansion was sealed earlier this week, 41 days after he was sworn in, displacing Uddhav Thackeray.

Thackeray was forced to quit as chief minister after Shinde, a senior leader from his party, the Shiv Sena, instigated a huge revolt in partnership with the BJP. Shinde became the chief minister of Maharashtra with BJP support.

Also read: SC asks Shinde faction to redraft submissions on pleas by Uddhav camp

Fadnavis had taken the deputy’s job hours after announcing he would not be part of the government. Having served as chief minister earlier, he had been concerned about a diminished role but was persuaded to take the job by his party.