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Eknath Shinde expected to expand his council of ministers tomorrow
Shinde and Fadnavis met for over an hour on Monday and were believed to have finalised the names of probable ministers to be sent for the BJP central leadership’s final approval
Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde is expected to expand his council of ministers with the induction of over a dozen ministers on Tuesday over 40 days after he was sworn in along with his deputy Devendra Fadnavis following the fall of Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government. The expansion was delayed as the Shinde-led breakaway faction of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were unable to finalise a power-sharing pact.
Shinde and Fadnavis met for over an hour on Monday and were believed to have finalised the names of probable ministers to be sent for the BJP central leadership’s final approval.
A BJP leader said more expansions will later place later in a phased manner. “Around 12 to 15 Cabinet and ministers of state will be sworn in the central hall of the state legislature on Tuesday morning. The non-controversial and senior-most faces from both the sides are expected to be inducted. The BJP is getting 27 berths and Shinde camp 16 as per the power sharing agreement,” said the leader, requesting anonymity.
BJP leaders Chandrakant Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, Pravin Darekar and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil were among those expected to take oath on Tuesday. Gulabrao Patil, Bacchu Kadu, Sandipan Bhumre, Sanjay Shirsat and Deepak Kesarkar from the Shinde camp were also likely to be inducted.
A second BJP leader said there may not be any major surprises. “The party leadership may not prefer to do something disruptive when the Lok Sabha elections are less than two years away.”
An official said the final venue is yet to be decided. “...only some leaders from both sides are expected to be sworn in as ministers...the durbar hall [of the state assembly] is too small to accommodate the workers and relatives of the ministers attending the ceremony. The central hall is bigger than the durbar hall in capacity and the Vidhan Bhavan [assembly] has its own dedicated parking space.”
Assembly officials said they have not received any intimation from the state government yet on the swearing-in ceremony. “Even if we get a notice two hours prior to the event, we can manage. Based on the information we are getting from the government officials it may happen even on Monday evening. We are ready for it too,” said the official.
The expansion was delayed over political uncertainty due to pending petitions related Shiv Sena’s control in the Supreme Court and negotiations for control of important portfolios such as home, finance, water resources and rural development, which may go to the BJP.
The Shinde faction, which has the support of 50 legislators, including independents and smaller parties, has been considering a larger number of contenders.
Shinde, who has been driving a hard bargain with the BJP, has visited New Delhi seven times for consultations with the BJP leadership. The BJP offered him the chief minister’s post after MVA government lost power when 40 of the 55 Shiv Sena lawmakers rebelled.
The government is planning to hold the Monsoon Session of state legislature immediately after the swearing in.
