Maharashtra government: BJP drops old guard, 30% ministers are new faces

The party has inducted seven new faces by dropping old guards like Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ravindra Chavan, Suresh Khade and Vijaykumar Gavit

Nagpur: Following its best-ever performance in assembly polls in Maharashtra in November, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has dropped several old faces from the council of ministers and inducted young turks in their place. The party has also given more cabinet berths to western Maharashtra than other regions in the state in its bid to strengthen its position there.

Sudhir Mungantiwar was among those dropped. (Anshuman Poyrekar/HT photo)

“Our endeavour was to give representation to every section of society, be it youth, women, or marginalised communities including OBCs, Marathas and Dhangars. The cabinet is comprehensive,” said chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Out of 20 BJP ministers in the state cabinet, the party has inducted seven new faces by dropping old guards like Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ravindra Chavan, Suresh Khade and Vijaykumar Gavit. Chavan is expected to be made the state president of the party, while Mungantiwar is expected to be given organisational responsibilities in the wake of the delimitation exercise scheduled in 2029. Khade, who was labour minister in the previous Mahayuti government, was dropped as the BJP leadership was reportedly unhappy with him while Gavit was dropped due to complaints against him by other party leaders in north Maharashtra as well as his daughter Heena Gavit’s defection prior to the assembly polls.

BJP’s move to induct completely new faces like Shivendraraje Bhosale, Aakash Fundkar and Pankaj Bhoyar in the cabinet reflects its intent to create a new leadership in the state, said a senior BJP leader on condition of anonymity.

“The absence of second line leaders like Sanjay Kute and Sambhaji Nilangekar in the ministerial council clearly reflects this,” the leader said.

The maximum number of cabinet berths, 10, was allotted to western Maharashtra, where the party is relatively weak compared to other regions. The Mahayuti won 52 of 70 seats in the region, with the BJP bagging 28 seats, eight more than its tally in 2019.

“Seven out of the 11 districts in Vidarbha do not have any ministerial representation despite Vidarbha being BJP’s stronghold as the party is confident about its performance in the region in the impending local polls,” said a BJP leader. The enhanced emphasis on western Maharashtra in the council of ministers is to ensure better performance in the local body polls, the leader added.