Of 6 who were inducted, at least 4 are Dy CM loyalists.
The reshuffle of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) ministers in the state cabinet has sprung no surprises.
However, the rejig clearly bears the imprint of Ajit Pawar as a majority of those sworn in on Tuesday owed allegiance to the deputy chief minister.
While three were sworn into the cabinet – Madhukar Pichad, Shashikant Shinde and Dilip Sopal – on Tuesday, three others were taken in as ministers of state – Uday Samant, Suresh Dhas and Sanjay Savkare.
The reshuffle, earlier touted as an exercise to assert the authority of party chief Sharad Pawar, turned to be a damp squib. Far from that, it shows that it is Ajit Pawar’s writ that runs in the party.
This is further bolstered by the fact that none of those dropped from the council of ministers is a great supporter of Ajit Pawar. Among those dropped include three cabinet ministers – Babanrao Pachpute, Ramraje Naik-Nimbalkar and Laxman Dhoble while the three outgoing ministers of state are Bhaskar Jadhav, Prakash Solanki and Gulabrao Deokar.
A senior Congress minister said that the way the party had gone to town about the reshuffle, it seemed major changes would be made. “But neither have they touched heavyweights nor made changes in important portfolios. Ajit Pawar’s influence is visible in this too despite the impression that it is the senior Pawar who calls the shots,” said the minister. “The only thing seen in the reshuffle is that newcomers have been opportunities.”
Madhukar Pichad: The party state president had to be accommodated somewhere as the party has been scouting for a new state chief.
Shashikant Shinde: A hardcore supporter of Ajit Pawar, Shinde has been directly elevated to cabinet rank.
Dilip Sopal: Sopal, also a devout supporter of Ajit Pawar, had led independent legislators and threatened to withdraw support to the government over Pawar’s resignation last year.
Suresh Dhas: He too belongs to Ajit Pawar’s camp. Hailing from Beed district, his entry offsets the ouster of Prakash Solanki, also from the same district.
Sanjay Savkare: The Dalit leader successfully contested from Bhusawal after it was reserved for the scheduled castes.
Uday Samant: Is a supporter of water resources minister Sunil Tatkare, who is a close aide of Ajit Pawar. Samat replaces Bhaskar Jadhav.
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