Despite chief minister Devendra Fadnavis setting the House in order and creating a hierarchy, with Eknath Khadse, Sudhir Mungantiwar and Vinod Tawde numbers 2, 3 and 4 among BJP ministers, there is discontent in the party top brass, though not on surface.
Even though the veterans are silent, party sources say none of the top ministers have got the departments they wanted.
Tawde, however, doesn't want to express his disappointment out in the open and, hence, has said he has got a whole umbrella of departments of education, along with sports, as per his choice, said a BJP leader.
Party insiders told dna that by announcing the distribution of portfolios when Fadnavis is in his hometown, he has proved he is a seasoned politician (as no one can keep questioning him about the whys and hows of the whole thing).
Sources said Fadnavis is likely to keep urban development with him. He has not allotted the all-important Home department to anyone yet and that too will be with him, at least for the time being. Whether he will keep it permanently will be clear only after the Cabinet expansion. It will also depend on the crucial issue of arrangement with Shiv Sena joining the Cabinet.
By giving Khadse, who is the senior-most minister, plum portfolios of revenue, agriculture and state excise, in addition to dairy development, fisheries and animal husbandry, Fadnavis has sent the signal that the North Maharashtra minister will be number two in the Cabinet.
Mungantiwar has been made minister of finance and planning with the additional charge of forests. Sources said he is not interested in budget or finance and was reluctant to take it up, yet he has been asked to do so.
Tawde will be handling school, higher education, technical education, medical education and cultural affairs. Interestingly, Tawde was willing to have Home department and had expressed his desire during the election campaign. He had announced that he would arrest Ajit Pawar after coming to power, meaning he would become home minister.
Prakash Mehta has been given industries, mining and parliamentary affairs. This, according to party sources, is an intelligent move by Fadnavis as it will mean Mehta being a Gujarati will be entrusted with the responsibility of attracting investment to Maharashtra. Being from Mumbai, he will be easily available for the industry captains and corporate leaders, and his business acumen will also be harnessed for the government and state.
Chandrakant Patil, who enjoys the trust of none other than prime minister Narendra Modi, is the architect of the party's success in Western Maharashtra. He is an ABVP man and is known for his integrity and honesty. By giving him cooperation, marketing and PWD, Fadnavis has given him the mandate for possible inquiries into the alleged scams in state cooperatives. The man from Gargoti in Kolhapur will have to take on sugar barons to enable BJP to widen its base in the sugar bowl of Western Maharashtra, said a veteran.
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