Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Suspense Continues as Talks in Final Round on Portfolio Allocation

New Delhi: Suspense over the Maharashtra cabinet is likely to end soon as talks among Mahayuti allies- BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP enter the final round. The Cabinet expansion in Maharashtra is likely to take place on December 16.

The newly elected Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy Ajit Pawar are currently in the national capital to hold talks with the BJP leadership. Notably, Deputy CM and Eknath Shinde seems to be absent for the meeting, while Shiv Sena remains hellbent on key ministries of the state, as per media reports.

This comes as Fadnavis recently met Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday late night to discuss the ministerial expansion. The CM also met Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and more.

Shiv Sena Looks for New Faces

Meanwhile, Shinde's Shiv Sena may not give another chance to three leaders in the new state cabinet even as they were ministers in the previous government given complaints about their performance and inaccessibility, a party leader said. The party is likely to induct fresh faces in their place.

An aide of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and party MLA said several legislators raised concern regarding certain ministers. They said the three former ministers - one each from Konkan, western Maharashtra and Marathwada - were inaccessible even to the party MLAs.

"We have raised this issue with the deputy CM (Shinde) and demanded that they should not be inducted in the new cabinet. These ministers did not even meet their own party MLAs," the aide said.

BJP Denies Finance and Home to Pawar, Shinde: Sources

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has reportedly taken a firm stand on key portfolio allocations in Maharashtra's coalition government. Sources close to the matter to Republic that the BJP has communicated to Ajit Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction that the Finance Ministry will not be assigned to them. Similarly, Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena faction has been informed that it will not receive the Home Ministry portfolio.  

Ajit Pawar, who recently took oath as Deputy Chief Minister for the sixth time, was expected to secure the Finance Ministry, with the Minister of State (Finance) likely to be from the BJP. Moreover, the Pawar-led NCP was eyeing key portfolios such as Agriculture and Cooperation.

Meanwhile, the Shiv Sena faction has consistently emphasized its claim to the crucial Home Ministry in the new Maharashtra government. Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat, representing the Aurangabad West assembly constituency, had previously stated, "The Home Department should be with the party (Shiv Sena). The department is (usually) with the Deputy Chief Minister. It would not be right if the Chief Minister heads the Home Department."