Young faces, Mumbai MLAs set to feature in new Maha cabinet

Mumbai: Twenty-four hours after Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Maharashtra chief minister along with deputies Ajit Pawar of the Nationalist Congress Party and Eknath Shinde of the Shiv Sena, hectic deliberations were underway in Mumbai to finalise his Cabinet.

Maharashtra, which has 288 MLAs, can have a maximum of 43 ministerial portfolios. The last cabinet headed by Eknath Shinde as chief minister had only 29 ministers, as the much-awaited cabinet expansion never took place. In Shinde’s government, the BJP had 10 berths, the Shiv Sena another 10, and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party had nine ministries.

In the new power-sharing pact being worked out, the BJP, which won 132 seats, will have 22-23 ministries; Ekanth Shinde, who has 57 MLAs, will get 11-12 berths; and the NCP, which has 41 MLAs, will get 9-10 berths.

Sources in the BJP confirmed that the home department, over which Eknath Shinde prolonged the suspense about joining the government, will remain with the BJP.

“While the allocation of the three other key departments – finance, revenue and urban development–are still to be decided, most of the other portfolios have being fine-tuned,” said a BJP leader privy to the negotiations.

From the BJP, Girish Mahajan, who is a seven-term MLA from Jamner; Radhakrishan Vikhe Patil, a lawmaker from Shirdi; and Ravindra Chavan from Dombivali have been finalised for the cabinet, the leader said. Other leaders whose induction seems final are Pankaja Munde, who is an MLC; Aurangabad East MLA Atul Save; Suresh Khade, who won from Miraj; Jayakumar Rawal, MLA from Sindhkheda; Devyani Farande, who represents Nashik Central; and Madhuri Misal, who won from Parvati.

Younger faces

All the three parties, sources said, are trying to induct younger faces into the Cabinet and are in the process of convincing the older leaders to step aside. From the BJP, for instance, Chandrakant Patil and Vijaykumar Gavit are likely to make way for younger colleagues like the party’s Mumbai chief, Ashish Shelar; the BJP’s north Indian face in Mumbai, Rajhans Singh; and Yogesh Sagar, also from Mumbai. With the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections slated for early next year, the party is keen to give a wider representation to Mumbai in the Cabinet.

Colaba MLA Rahul Narwekar will either be given a ministry or be made Speaker, as is the case with senior BJP leader Sudhir Mungatiwar.

From the Shiv Sena, Ekanth Shinde has a much more difficult task ahead of him convincing his MLAs to stay out of the Cabinet. The last time around, he could induct only 10 of the 40 MLAs he had. Now, with 57 MLAs and still only 10-12 ministries, he will have to dash the hopes of many.

The Shiv Sena lawmakers most likely to be finalised are his close confidante Uday Samant, who was industries minister in the last government, Shamburaj Desai who was excise minister, Sanjay Rathod who was soil and water conservation minister and Gulabrao Patil who was the water supply and sanitation minister. Shinde will tap their experience to bring heft from his party.

After the BJP central leadership made it clear to him that MLAs wil be inducted in the government on the strength of their past performance and public conduct, Shinde is likely to drop leaders such as former minorities welfare minister Abdul Sattar and public health department minister Tanaji Sawant. Both have been beset with allegations of corruption. Former chief whip of the party, Bharat Gogawale, is likely to find a place in the Cabinet to balance out regional representation.

The NCP, too, with a limited number of berths available, is in the process of convincing certain senior leaders to make way for younger leaders. Dilip Walse Patil,the 68-year-old Ambegaon MLA, is unlikely to find a place in Mahayuti 2.0 government. A senior leader disclosed that Ajit Pawar is negotiating for a governorship for him instead. Walse Patil, a key Maratha leader from western Maharashtra, is likely to be replaced in the Cabinet by the younger Dattatrey Bharme, a 56-year-old MLA from Indapur. He defeated the heavyweight NCP (SP) leader Harshvardhan Patil.

Sources said Ajit Pawar was also trying to convince senior party colleague Chhagan Bhujbal to step aside for a younger colleague. Bhujbal, who has been a minister in six administrations, is however adamant on staying put in the government. Bhujbal still has at least two corruption cases pending against him.

Another NCP leader likely to be kept out of the Cabinet is Dharmarao Atram, who is an MLA from Aheri. In his place, Narhari Zirwal, a tribal MLA from Dindori, is likely to be inducted. Source said Ajit Pawar was also contemplating replacing Sanjay Bansod, who was sports and youth development minister in the last Cabinet with Babasaheb Patil from Latur.

As far the number of portfolios is concerned, the NCP is likely to get retain finance, agriculture, cooperation, women and child welfare, food and civil supply departments.

“Even the BJP does not want to make too many changes in the portfolios held in the last government. The only additional berth we have sought is housing department which was with the BJP in the last government,” said an NCP leader who is part of the ongoing negotiations.

Eknath Shinde who held the all-important urban development department is likely to retain it and his party has been asked by the BJP to choose from between the public work department or the water resources department.

CM Fadnavis is expected to hold another meeting with his two deputies on Saturday to finalise power-sharing and a cabinet expansion is scheduled for next week.