Today’s expansion of the Maharashtra cabinet; 36 ministers expected to be added
The chief minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray, is expected to broaden his ministerial council on Monday. The development comes 32 days after Thackeray, on November 28, took the oath as the CM. Over the past few days, Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) leaders from Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress had held several meetings to finalize the plans for cabinet expansion. The MVA government currently has, in addition to the chief minister, only six ministers from the Cabinet, two from each of the three parties.
Approximately 36 ministers are expected to be inducted on Monday, including those from the ranks of Cabinet Ministers and Ministers of State.
At noon in the Maharashtra Legislature precinct, Maharashtra Governor BS Koshyari will administer the oath to the new team. Maharashtra cabinet’s total strength can be as high as 42 including the chief minister.
According to the latest information on Sunday, President Sharad Pawar’s nephew Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress (NCP) could bounce back as Deputy Chief Minister.
While there has been speculation that Congress has eyed the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, it is excluded as Congressman Nana Patole has become the Speaker.
Ashok Chavan could be made a minister among the senior leaders of the Congress, while Prithviraj Chavan could be accommodated as the president of the State Congress, as Balasaheb Thorat is now a minister of the cabinet.
Last month, on November 23, Ajit Pawar rebelled and became Deputy Chief Minister under then BJP Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in coalition with the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The two-man government, however, could last only 80 hours. Fadnavis is now leading the opposition in a new role. A Common Minimum Program (CMP) and a seat-share system were proposed by the three parties. The Shiv Sena would get 15 ministers apart from the chief minister, NCP 14 and Congress 12, according to the initial seat-sharing formula.
