Former Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar were among the eight who were sworn in as cabinet ministers.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday expanded his council of ministers and inducted thirteen new faces while six ministers quit their posts.
Former Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar were among the eight who were sworn in as ministers in the Fadnavis-led Maharashtra cabinet while five were inducted as junior ministers in what is seen as the last cabinet expansion before the state goes to polls later this year.
This was the third expansion of the state cabinet. With Sunday's expansion, the Fandavis government now has 41 ministers.
According to the rules they have to get elected in the state legislature within these six months. But since the state polls are due in September-October, these ministers can stay on their posts till end of this Assembly's tenure.
Here is all you need to know about today's Maharashtra cabinet expansion:
1. Eight cabinet ministers, five MoS sworn in
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Former Congress leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar were among the eight who were sworn in as ministers in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra cabinet on Sunday.
Apart from the eight ministers, five were inducted as junior ministers as part of a cabinet expansion which took place a day before the beginning of the state legislature's monsoon session and four months ahead of the Assembly polls.
This was the third expansion of the state cabinet and no new woman leader was inducted. There are two women ministers -- Pankaja Munde and Vidya Thakur -- in the BJP-Sena coalition government in Maharashtra.
2. Vikhe Patil gets cabinet berth
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Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, the former leader of opposition in the state Assembly, and ex-NCP leader Jaydutt Kshirsagar, who joined the Shiv Sena recently, were sworn in as cabinet ministers on Sunday.
Speaking on former Congressman Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's induction into the cabinet, the Maharashtra CM claimed, "I have been doing developmental work and that is why new people are joining the BJP."
3. Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar rewarded
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Mumbai BJP chief Ashish Shelar was also inducted into the cabinet. Shelar, the former chairman of Mumbai Cricket Association, was earlier seen as a strong contender for the cabinet post, specially after the BJP's tally in the local civic body rose from 33 to 83 under his leadership during the 2017 municipal polls.
4. Athawale's party gets junior minister's seat
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For the first time, a leader from the Republic Party of India (Athawale), Avinash Mahatekar, was inducted into the Fadnavis government as a junior minister. RPI(A) chief and Rajya Sabha member Ramdas Athawale is currently a Minister of State in Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre.
5. State polls due in Sept-Oct
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Vikhe Patil, Kshirsagar and Mahatekar, who currently are not members of any House of the state legislature, can hold ministerial charge for six months.
According to the rules they have to get elected in the state legislature within these six months. But since the state polls are due in September-October, these ministers can stay on their posts till end of this Assembly's tenure.
6. Sena gets 2 more cabinet berths
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Ex-NCP leader Jaydutt Kshirsagar, who joined the Shiv Sena recently, and Tanaji Sawant took oath as cabinet ministers.
Suresh Khade, Sanjay Kute, Anil Bonde and Ashok Uike of the BJP also took oath as cabinet ministers.
Among them, Sawant is the only cabinet member who is a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) while the others are MLAs.
Besides, BJP's Yogesh Sagar, Sanjay alias Bala Bhegade, Parinay Phuke and Atul Save were inducted as MoS. While Phuke is an MLC, the others are members of the Lower House.
7. Six ministers quit, Fadnavis accepts resignations
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Maharashtra Housing Minister Prakash Mehta and five other ministers quit their posts, an official in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) said.
Besides Mehta, the others who resigned as ministers are Rajkumar Badole, Vishnu Sawra, Dilip Kamble, Praveen Pote and Amrish Atram. The chief minister has accepted their resignations, the official added.
8. A look at earlier cabinet expansions of Fadnavis govt
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The Devendra Fadnavis government took charge in November 2014, but the Sena did not join the government at that time. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party joined the government in December that year during the first cabinet expansion. The second expansion of the cabinet was held in July, 2016.
A vacancy was created in 2018 when then state agriculture minister Pandurang Fundkar died. The portfolio was subsequently being handled by Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil.
Earlier this year, then health minister Deepak Sawant also resigned and the department was being looked after by Eknath Shinde, who is also the PWD minister.
Parliamentary Affairs and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Girish Bapat resigned after being elected to the Lok Sabha from Pune. His portfolios were till now being shared by Education Minister Vinod Tawde and Tourism Minister Jaykumar Rawal.
9. Cabinet expansion for regional balance, new faces: Maha CM
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Fadnavis said the cabinet expansion was for regional balance and to create an opportunity for other party workers to serve, and no one was dropped for "poor performance".
Speaking on the eve of the monsoon session of the Maharashtra legislature, Fadnavis said, "We wanted to present new faces as well as create a regional balance. No one in the cabinet was removed because of poor performance. The new team will perform better."
Commenting on a Lokayukta report related to outgoing Housing Minister Prakash Mehta's alleged land deal, Fadnavis said, "The report is going to be presented in the House. I cannot comment on it now."
10. 42 ministers including Fadnavis
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There are 42 ministers in the government currently including chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Explaining the cabinet size mathematics, a BJP leader said, "Six MLAs have resigned from the House in the last six months. This has reduced the strength of the Assembly to 282 from 288. Rules specify that the cabinet size cannot be more than 15 per cent of the strength of the Assembly. Due to this, the cabinet size can be only 42, down from 43."
