Cabinet reshuffle: Four Union ministers from Maharashtra, BJP goes by poll call

Political calculations in Maharashtra, as the Shiv Sena chose to stick to its new allies and the considerations for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, seem to have guided the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) choice of ministers to represent the state in the union cabinet

Political calculations in Maharashtra, as the Shiv Sena chose to stick to its new allies and the considerations for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, seem to have guided the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) choice of ministers to represent the state in the union cabinet.

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With chief minister Uddhav Thackeray remaining BJP’s top target in the state, his biggest critic and former chief minister Narayan Rane has been inducted as a cabinet minister, which is an indication that the party is likely to become more aggressive against Thackeray and the MVA government in the state. Besides Rane, MP from Bhiwandi Kapil Patil, MP from Dindori in Nashik Bharati Pawar and Rajya Sabha MP Bhagwat Karad have been inducted in union council of ministers.

The BJP is expecting multiple political benefits by inducting Rane who wields influence over coastal Konkan area. The Sena is strong in Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg districts of Konkan where Rane can help the BJP grow. Besides, he will come in handy for civic polls especially in Mumbai where Sena’s main support base in Marathi speaking population a significant chunk of which comes from Konkan. Rane is also a prominent Maratha leader and has been vocal on the demand for reservation to Maratha community in government jobs and education. With Supreme Court scrapping the reservation provided during the Fadnavis-led BJP government rule, the BJP is blaming the Sena-led government. Rane will come in handy to gain further support of the community which has been a traditional support base for both the Congress and NCP. Most importantly, Rane is now expected to lead the BJP’s campaign against Thackeray. Rane spent over two decades in Sena before he quit the party in 2005 following power tussle with Thackeray. Since then, he has been the latter’s fiercest critic.

Within two hours of taking the oath, he launched an attack on the Thackeray government, blaming it for the SC order to strike down the Maratha reservation. “The Maratha reservation was struck down as the Maharashtra government failed to fight the legal battle in the right spirit. I will ensure that the reservation is restored,” he said.

Not just Rane, BJP’s other choice from the region, Kapil Patil too is aimed at countering the Shiv Sena which is strong in Thane and Palghar districts. Patil is elected from Bhiwandi in Thane district and comes from Agri community which has significant presence in Thane, Raigad and Palghar districts. BJP expects Patil to get the community’s support.

Of the four ministers, two are from Other Backward Classes (Kapil Patil and Bhagwat Karad) and one each from Maratha (Rane) and tribal community (Dr Pawar). With OBC community protesting against scrapping of political reservation it had in local self-government elections, the move assumes significance. Dr Pawar’s selection is also aimed at strengthening party’s presence in north Maharashtra where Sena and NCP have significant presence.

The selection of ministers from Maharashtra also has a clear stamp of Fadnavis. According to party leaders, Fadnavis had a clear say in the selection. The selection is also a snub to Munde clan as the party picked Bhagwat Karad over Beed MP Pritam Munde, who is daughter of late Gopinath Munde and sister of prominent leader Pankaja Munde. A senior BJP leader said by choosing Karad over Pritam Munde, the leadership has tried to send out a message against dynasty. “Former CM and opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis has a clear imprint on the choice from Maharashtra. Exclusion of Sanjay Dhotre may disturb the equations in Vidarbha as no replacement has been given for him from the region comprising of 11 districts. We have only one union minister, Nitin Gadkari, who represents the region which is the stronghold of the party,” the leader said.

“The BJP is in no mood to compromise with Sena politically and by inducting Rane and Patil, the message sent out is loud and clear. Secondly, had there been any plan of joining hands between the two, Sena would have been taken on board in NDA and given a few berths,” another state BJP leader said.

The leader however said there is strong sentiment among party loyalists over the upper hand given to outsiders. Three of the four MPs from Maharashtra who were made union ministers have been new entrants to the BJP in the past five-six years. “I do not think the party has overlooked its loyalists. It is in fact a fair balance between the loyalists and new faces. Rane has been chosen to represent the cabinet for his seniority and his experience not because he is bete noire of Shiv Sena,” said union minister and former Maharashtra BJP chief Raosaheb Danve.

Rane said, “I do not think much about the purpose behind my choice by the party leadership and if it to give a fitting reply to Sena.”

Political analyst Hemant Desai said, “The BJP has given chance to the new faces like Dr Pawar and at the same time sent out the message against dynasty politics. The cabinet expansion has also ratified that the Sena and BJP are now unlikely to come together.”