Ajit Pawar Shares Mahayuti’s ‘Two-And-A-Half Year’ Plan For Maharashtra Cabinet Berths

Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Sunday assured opportunities for other legislators not in the current ministry. He said the ruling Mahayuti would include them during the government's tenure. NCP leader Pawar was addressing a gathering of party workers in Nagpur when he said that the alliance will give opportunity to others for ‘two-and-a-half years.’ 

Ajit Pawar noted that while everyone aspires to become a minister, the number of ministerial positions is limited. "We have decided that during the five-year tenure of this government, we will give an opportunity to others also for two-and-a-half years, which means many will get a chance to become (cabinet) ministers and state ministers. Accordingly, many districts and regions will get representation," Pawar said. 

Prominent leaders excluded from the ministry include NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, along with BJP's Sudhir Mungantiwar. 

Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion 

In the cabinet expansion on Sunday, the BJP secured 19 ministerial berths, followed by 11 for the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and 9 for Ajit Pawar's NCP at the ceremony in Raj Bhawan, Nagpur. Of the 39 sworn in, 33 are cabinet ministers, and six are ministers of state. Maharashtra's council of ministers can have up to 43 members, including the chief minister. 

Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule was sworn in as a Cabinet Minister. Other BJP leaders, including Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Chandrakant Patil, Nitesh Rane, Girish Mahajan, Ganesh Naik, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, and Pankaja Munde, also took oath. 

NCP leaders Hasan Mushrif and Dhananjay Munde joined the Cabinet. Shiv Sena leaders Dadaji Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Sanjay Shirsat, and Uday Samant were also sworn in as ministers. 

In the November 20 assembly polls, the Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory, winning 230 of 288 seats. The BJP led with 132 seats, followed by Shinde's Shiv Sena with 57 and Pawar's NCP with 41.

(With PTI inputs)