Maha portfolio allocation: Ajit Pawar gets finance, Anil Deshmukh home department

The 43-member cabinet of the Maharashta Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray can finally begin work in full swing, as the long-awaited

The 43-member cabinet of the Maharashta Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government led by chief minister (CM) Uddhav Thackeray can finally begin work in full swing, as the long-awaited portfolio allocation was finalised late on Saturday evening. The CM sent the list to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari for a formal nod, but the approval was awaited at the time of going to press.

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State Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) president and cabinet minister Jayant Patil, in a tweet, said: “As the entire state is awaiting the cabinet portfolios, similarly we are also waiting... according to my knowledge, the chief minister has sent a list of portfolio allocation to honorable governor at 730 pm. We hope the honourable governor will ratify it soon.”

Thackeray has only kept the general administration department, which is traditionally overseen by the CM, for himself. According to the list approved by the CM, his deputy Ajit Pawar will head the finance and planning department. Thackeray’s son Aaditya Thackeray will be the new environment, tourism and protocol minister. NCP’s Anil Deshmukh will be the home minister, with the Sena conceding the department to the ally. Deshmukh, a senior leader from Nagpur, was picked, after Ajit Pawar said he would not like to take up the portfolio at this stage.

According to NCP insiders, Ajit Pawar and the party top brass were wary of him heading the home portfolio, with the irrigation scam inquiry still being heard in the high court. The anti-corruption bureau (ACB), which is conducting the probe, comes under the home department. The urban development department, considered a key portfolio along with the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, will be run by Shiv Sena’s Eknath Shinde. Amid the tug-of-war in the Congress, state chief Balasaheb Thorat managed to retain the crucial revenue department, while former chief minister Ashok Chavan got the public works department.

HT called several ministers, but they refused to comment, as the portfolio list had not been formally out. The portfolio allocation indicates the balance of power in the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi, made up of three parties, tilts in favour of the NCP. The NCP has not just got the most number of ministerial posts (16), but has also retained the most crucial of the departments for its ministers. The Shiv Sena, besides the CM, has 14 ministerial posts, but has retained fewer important portfolios such as urban development department, agriculture and industries. The Congress has got 10 ministerial posts and two crucial departments like revenue and PWD.

The NCP has got important portfolios like home, rural development department (Hasan Mushriff), co-operation (Balasaheb Patil), water resources (Jayant Patil) and social justice (Dhananjay Munde). NCP’s Jitendra Awhad will head housing, while Rajesh Tope will handle the health department. “The CM finalised the list after holding meetings with both the other parties. It has been sent to the governor for a formal nod,” said a senior bureaucrat, who did not want to be named. Education will be handled by three different ministers –Varsha Gaikwad (Congress) will head the school education department, while Amit Deshmukh (Congress) will handle medical education and Uday Samant (Shiv Sena) will head the higher and technical education.

The Shiv Sena, besides urban development, MSRDC, tourism and environment, has kept industries department (Subhash Desai), agriculture (Dada Bhuse), transport and parliamentary affairs (Anil Parab), forests (Sanjay Rathod) and water supply and sanitation (Gulabrao Patil).

The Congress, apart from revenue and PWD, has got the energy portfolio (Nitin Raut); school education department (Varsha Gaikwad); women and child welfare department (Yashomati Thakur); medical education department (Amit Deshmukh); tribal development department (KC Padvi); dairy development and animal husbandry (Sunil Kedar), besides two other cabinet portfolios. Among the ten ministers of state or junior ministers, Congress’s Satej Patil got home (cities) and Vishwajeet Kadam has got co-operation and agriculture departments. NCP’s Aditi Tatkare has industries, information and publicity department; Prajakt Tanpure has urban development; Dattatray Bharne has forests and GAD; and Sanjay Bansode has got MSRDC and environment. Shiv Sena’s Shambhuraje Desai has got home (rural) and finance; Abdul Sattar has got revenue; Bachchu Kadu has got water resources and school education; Rajendra Patil Yadravkar has got public health.

Ministers of state are generally delegated powers by their superiors, the cabinet ministers.