Portfolio allocations as part of Maharashtra cabinet expansion started today, with chief minister Eknath Shinde keeping the urban development ministry. Deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis will be handling the home, finance, water resources, housing and power departments.
The public works (public projects) and transportation departments were retained by Shinde, who added 18 new ministers to his two-member government on August 9.
BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil will be the new revenue minister in the new Shiv Sena-BJP government in the state, said a statement from the chief minister’s office (CMO).
The portfolio of the forest ministry was given to BJP minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, who had previously managed it. The new minister for higher and technical education is Chandrakant Patil, a former state-level BJP leader. Patil will manage parliamentary affairs as well.
Deepak Kesarkar, from the Shinde-led group of Shiv Sena rebels, has been appointed as the new minister for school education, while Abdul Sattar has been given the agriculture portfolio.
After Uddhav Thackeray's resignation, there was a 40-day gap in Maharashtra between the swearing-in of new ministers and the taking of the oath by Shinde and Fadnavis.
In the Shinde-Fadnavis balancing act, which followed numerous visits by the two leaders to Delhi, a total of 18 ministers had taken their oaths in the state.
Each side has nine members that have been sworn in. There are currently 43 seats available in the state cabinet, and more are expected to be added later.
First Published: Aug 14, 2022 7:06 PM IST
