Devendra Fadnavis to expand ministry tomorrow

After the cabinet expansion at the Centre, it's now the turn of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis to repeat the exercise in the state on Friday, by inducting 9-10 new ministers. And, Shiv Sena would be part of this expansion, unlike in the case of union cabinet.

After the Tuesday's cabinet meeting, many MLAs met chief minister Fadnavis at his office in Mantralaya. Sena's senior ministers Subhash Desai and Diwakar Raote had met Fadnavis at Varsha bungalow, CM's official residence, on Tuesday night. Sources told dna that the duo discussed with Fadnavis the Sena demand for three ministerial berths, one cabinet and two ministers of state, instead of the offered two. Fadnavis, however, it's learnt, made it clear to the Sena ministers that the formula for power sharing cannot be changed.

Both BJP and Sena had agreed to share ministerial berths in the proportion of elected MLAs. Since BJP won double the Assembly seats (122), compared to Sena's 63, BJP got 20 ministers and Sena 10. After the exist of revenue minister Eknath Khadse following scams, BJP is left with 19 ministers. It's expected that the BJP will have five ministers in this expansion, while three smaller partners – Swabhimani Party, Rashtriya Samaj Party and Shiv Sangram – will get one each.

Also, Fadnavis would go in for a rejig by changing the portfolios of a few existing ministers. Sources told dna that one or two Fadnavis loyalists in the ministry are likely to be elevated to cabinet rank.