In a significant development, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde of Maharashtra finally carried out a long-anticipated cabinet reshuffle and expansion. This reshuffling comes after a two-week impasse and marks the appointment of Ajit Pawar as the new Finance Minister.
The decision has faced opposition from the Shiv Sena, led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, as well as some members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Reshuffling and Allocation of Portfolios
On Friday, July 14, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announced the reshuffling and expansion of his cabinet in Mumbai. The crucial Finance Department was entrusted to Ajit Pawar, the newly appointed second Deputy Chief Minister.
Despite reservations from Shiv Sena and murmurs from the BJP, Ajit Pawar, a member of the breakaway Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) group, received the Finance and Planning Departments:
Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar today took charge as the Cabinet Minister for Finance and Planning Department. pic.twitter.com/IUkaCefNDX
— ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2023
Furthermore, other NCP leaders were given new responsibilities in the reshuffle. Chhagan Bhujbal was assigned the Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection portfolio, Dilip Walse-Patil took charge of the Cooperation portfolio, and Hasan M. Mushrif was appointed as the Minister for Medical Education and Special Assistance.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will be responsible for various departments, including General Administration, Urban Development, Information and Technology, Information and Public Relations, Transport, Social Justice, Environment and Climate Change, Mining, and other departments not assigned to any specific minister.
Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, from the BJP, has been assigned key departments such as Home, Law and Judiciary, Water Resources and Irrigation Development, Energy, and Parliamentary Affairs.
In addition to the major appointments, various other ministers received new portfolios. Dharmarao Baba Bhagwantrao Atram was appointed as the Minister for Food and Drug Administration, Dhananjay P. Munde took charge of Agriculture, and Anil Patil was assigned Relief and Rehabilitation and Disaster Management.
Aditi Sunil Tatkare, the sole woman in the cabinet, was appointed as the Minister for Women & Child Development.
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Changes and Loss of Departments
As a result of the reshuffling, Devendra Fadnavis lost his previous portfolios of Finance and Planning, Girish Mahajan lost the Medical Education portfolio, Atul Save lost the Cooperation portfolio, Mangal Prabhat Lodha lost the Women and Child Welfare portfolio, and Ravindra Chavan lost the Food and Civil Supplies portfolio.
On the Shiv Sena front, Ekanth Shinde lost the Relief and Rehabilitation portfolio, Sanjay Rathod lost the Food and Drug Administration portfolio, and Abdul Sattar lost the Agriculture portfolio.
Conclusion of Cabinet Reshuffle
The much-awaited cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra took place after the NCP split on June 30. Ajit Pawar and his team joined the Shinde-Fadnavis cabinet on July 2, although the proposal to expand the ministry has been put on hold for now.
The appointment of Ajit Pawar as the Finance Minister has sparked opposition from the Shiv Sena and some BJP members.
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