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Contest among aspirants delays Cabinet expansion
Tough competition among state Cabinet aspirants has delayed the expansion and put the allocation of portfolios of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government on hold.
Tough competition among state Cabinet aspirants has delayed the expansion and put the allocation of portfolios of the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi government on hold.
The Shiv Sena and Congress have been demanding immediate expansion of the Cabinet by December 4, while the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) wants it to be delayed owing to infighting for the deputy CM’s post and key portfolios among its key leaders. The winter session will begin on December 16.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray said on Sunday the allocation of portfolios to seven ministers, including him, would be subject to changes. “We will soon allocate departments to the seven ministers who were sworn in, but it will not be the final allocation. There may be changes once the Cabinet is expanded. The allocation will be done with due deliberation and amicable agreement between three parties,” he said.
The three parties have decided to share 15, 14 and 12 departments between the Sena, NCP and Congress, respectively. The Shiv Sena is likely to get urban development, housing, while the NCP may get finance, home and water resources department. After the election of the Assembly speaker from the party, the Congress is expected to get revenue, industries, among other departments. “Except key departments, the smaller portfolios are yet to be finalised,” said a Congress leader.
“The NCP leadership is apprehensive over the dispute for the post of deputy chief minister and key portfolios of finance and home. Ajit Pawar has been vying for the post of deputy CM, while the leadership is against giving him the post after his recent revolt. Legislative party leader Jayant Patil is the natural claimant for the post. To avoid any clashes and arm-twisting by Ajit Pawar, party chief Sharad Pawar wants the expansion to be delayed,” an NCP leader said.
The dispute between the Congress and NCP was solved after Sharad Pawar requested the Congress to settle for the post of Speaker during their meeting on Friday morning.
Bhujbal to return to Ramtek?
NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, a minister in the Uddhav Thackeray-led cabinet, may be seen back at Malabar Hill’s Ramtek bungalow soon. From 1999 to 2014, during his various tenures as deputy CM and as a minister, Bhujbal’s official residence was the government-owned, sprawling Ramtek bungalow. After the Cong-NCP was voted out of power, the bungalow was allotted to revenue minister Eknath Khadse. After Khadse’s resignation, it went to Jayakumar Rawal. After the Thackeray-led government took over, the process to allot bungalows to ministers has started, and Bhujbal is reportedly set to get Ramtek bungalow, while Eknath Shinde will get Royalstone bungalow, Jayant Patil will be given Seva Sadan and Subhash Desai will get Dyaneshwari bungalow.
Sule wants govt dept for specially-abled persons
NCP MP Supriya Sule has demanded an independent department be formed in the state govt to deal with the issues of specially-abled persons. She also demanded that “Mahaportal”, a website used by the state for recruitment, be shut as it is not “transparent”. Sule met the CM to raise these issues. “Many of the states have now formed an independent department for specially-abled people. This was done after enactment of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. Maharashtra needs such a dept with a designated secretary,” states her letter.
