Ajit Pawar assumes role of Pune guardian minister, replaces BJP's Chandrakant Patil

Revenue Minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has been entrusted with the responsibility of overseeing Akola district in Vidarbha, a task previously done  by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Relief and Rehabilitation Minister Anil Patil, a member of the NCP, will now serve as the guardian minister of Nandurbar, while the former BJP guardian minister Vijaykumar Gavit takes charge of Bhandara in Vidarbha.

NCP leader and Cooperation Minister Dilip Walse-Patil has been named the guardian minister of Buldhana in Vidarbha, while Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif will focus on his home district of Kolhapur.

Further district assignments include Food and Drug Administration Minister Dharmaraobaba Atram as the guardian minister of Gondia, Agriculture Minister Dhananjay Munde overseeing Marathwada’s Beed district, and Youth and Sports Development Minister Sanjay Bansode taking on the role of guardian minister in Parbhani district.

Forest Department Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, representing the BJP, has been tasked with handling Wardha district in Vidarbha.

The reshuffle notably satisfies the demands of the NCP, led by Ajit Pawar, securing Pune, Raigad, Nashik, and Beed, among others. Seven out of nine NCP ministers have been entrusted with the responsibilities of district guardianship, with only senior minister Chhagan Bhujbal and the sole woman minister in the cabinet, Aditi Tatkare, being exceptions. Bhujbal hails from Nashik, while Tatkare represents Raigad.

The NCP had previously advocated for Tatkare to assume the district guardian minister role in Raigad, which is currently held by Uday Samant from the Shinde Sena.

Similarly, the NCP's bid for the guardian ministership of Nashik remains unfulfilled, as Dada Bhuse of Shinde Sena continues in the role.

Notably, Ajit Pawar's absence from a recent cabinet meeting had sparked speculation. While NCP leaders cited a "throat infection" as the reason for his absence, state opposition leaders had labeled it a "political illness." This transition in Pune's district guardian ministership underscores the NCP's growing influence in Maharashtra's political landscape.