Kumar Bahukhandi
Maharashtra Politics: Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are the most important parties in the Mahayuti. In the cabinet expansion, Ajit Pawar’s faction has kept the maximum number of five leaders out of the new cabinet. The number of such leaders from BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is three each.
After the cabinet expansion of Maharashtra’s ruling alliance Mahayuti, internal turmoil has intensified. Actually, this time 11 ministers from the previous Mahayuti cabinet were not given a place in the new government led by Devendra Fadnavis. Due to this, such leaders and their supporters have become restless. Supporters of some leaders are protesting, while some leaders are directly expressing their displeasure. The most displeasure is being seen among the supporters of Chhagan Bhujbal in Yeola. Bhujbal himself has also talked about deciding the future strategy.
Actually, Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party are the most important parties in Mahayuti. In the cabinet expansion, Ajit Pawar’s faction has kept the maximum number of five leaders out of the new cabinet. This includes Chhagan Bhujbal, Dharmarao Baba Atram, Sanjay Bansode, Dilip Walse Patil and Anil Patil. The number of such leaders from BJP and Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena is three each. The BJP has excluded Ravindra Chavan, Sudhir Mungantiwar and Vijaykumar Gavit from the new team, while the Shiv Sena has not included Tanaji Sawant, Abdul Sattar and Deepak Kesarkar in the new cabinet.
Cabinet expansion in Maharashtra – Photo: ANI
Devendra Fadnavis’s new team
In the first cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led government, 39 MLAs of Mahayuti constituents Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena and NCP took oath on Sunday. These include 33 cabinet level and six other ministers of state. BJP got 19 ministerial posts, while Shiv Sena got 11 and NCP got nine ministerial posts. The important thing about this expansion is that 11 former ministers were removed from the cabinet and 16 new faces were included. Chief Minister Fadnavis had said after the cabinet expansion on Sunday that the Mahayuti allies have agreed to conduct a ‘performance audit’ of the ministers during their tenure.
Name of Minister Party Position
Chandrashekhar Bawankule BJP Cabinet Minister
Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil BJP Cabinet Minister
Hasan Mushrif NCP Cabinet Minister
Chandrakant Patil BJP Cabinet Minister
Girish Mahajan BJP Cabinet Minister
Gulabrao Patil Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Ganesh Naik BJP Cabinet Minister
Dada Bhuse Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Sanjay Rathod Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Dhananjay Munde NCP cabinet minister
Mangal Prabhat Lodha BJP Cabinet Minister
Uday Samant Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Jaikumar Rawal BJP Cabinet Minister
Pankaja Munde BJP Cabinet Minister
Atul Save BJP Cabinet Minister
Ashok Uike BJP Cabinet Minister
Shambhuraj Desai Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Ashish Shelar BJP Cabinet Minister
Dattatraya Bharne NCP Cabinet Minister
Aditi Tatkare NCP Cabinet Minister
Shivendra Singh Raje Bhosale BJP Cabinet Minister
Manikrao Kokate NCP Cabinet minister
Jaikumar Gore BJP Cabinet minister
Narhari Jhirwal NCP Cabinet Minister
Sanjay Savkare BJP Cabinet minister
Sanjay Shirsat Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Pratap Sarnaik Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Bharat Gogavale Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Makrand Jadhav Patil NCP Cabinet Minister
Nitesh Rane BJP Cabinet Minister
Akash Phundkar BJP Cabinet Minister
Babasaheb Patil NCP Cabinet minister
Prakash Abitkar Shiv Sena Cabinet Minister
Madhuri Misal BJP Minister of State
shish Jaiswal Shiv Sena Minister of State
Pankaj Bhoyar BJP Minister of State
Meghna Bordikar BJP Minister of State
Indranil Naik NCP Minister of State
Yogesh Kadam Shiv Sena Minister of State
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal – Photo: PTI
Bhujbal shows rebellious attitude
Senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal on Monday December 16 , 2024 expressed disappointment over not being included in the new Mahayuti government. He said that he will decide the future course of action after talking to the people of his constituency. Bhujbal said that I am a simple political worker. It does not matter whether I am sidelined or rewarded. Ministerial posts come and go, but they cannot be abolished.
When asked about the future course of action, the MLA from Yeola constituency of Nashik district said that let me see. Let me think about it. I will talk to the people of my constituency and discuss with the Samta Parishad.
Sudhir Mungantiwar – Photo: ANI
Why was my name removed from the list of ministers? Mungantiwar
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar on Monday December 16 , 2024 claimed that his name was in the list of ministers sworn in a day earlier, but it was later removed. A day after not getting a place in the council of ministers, Mungantiwar said that he is neither upset nor disappointed. However, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has indicated that the BJP leadership may assign some other role to Mungantiwar.
The former forest minister told reporters in Nagpur that I will continue to work for the people of my constituency and raise issues related to their welfare in the assembly. The seven-time BJP MLA said, ‘There is no reason for me to be upset, as I play whatever role the party assigns to me. The only issue is that I was told that my name was in the list of ministers, but yesterday it was not there. I do not know why my name was removed. Maybe the BJP has fixed some other responsibility for me.
First cabinet meeting of Mahayuti government – Photo: ANI
Shiv Sena MLA resigns from party posts
Shiv Sena MLA Narendra Bhondekar has resigned from all party posts, expressing disappointment over not being included in the Maharashtra Cabinet. Speaking to reporters in Bhandara district on Sunday December 15, 2024 Bhondekar claimed that his party chief and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had promised him a place in the Cabinet. Bhondekar is the deputy leader of the Shiv Sena and coordinator of East Vidarbha districts. He won the Bhandara constituency in the November 20 assembly elections by defeating his Congress rival by a margin of over 38,000 votes
There is no dispute in Mahayuti- Fadnavis – Photo: Channel24india.com
Departments to be allocated in two-three days: Fadnavis
Meanwhile, the Maharashtra Chief Minister said that the new ministers will be allocated departments in the next two-three days. Fadnavis said that the allies of the Mahayuti have agreed to conduct a performance audit of the ministers during their tenure. Although Fadnavis did not give any time limit for this, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the ministers made from his party will get a tenure of two and a half years. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar also said that those who do not perform well can be replaced even in two and a half months.
