Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has sought the crucial home department portfolio from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), as per Shiv Sena MLA Bharat Gogavale. The discussions for the allocations of the portfolios are still going on.
Gogavale, who is a close associate of Shinde, mentioned on Friday that the much-awaited cabinet expansion is likely to take place between December 11 to December 16, which is just ahead of the winter session of the state legislature. The winter schedule is slated to commence on December 16 in Nagpur, Maharashtra’s second capital.
The Shiv Sena MLA mentioned that when BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis served as the deputy chief minister to Shinde, he also handled the home department portfolio. ‘’Saheb (Shinde) has asked for the home department, and the discussion related to this is currently under process, ’’Gogavale added.
Cabinet Expansion
When asked to whom the demand had been made, he suggested it was likely Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The MLA who is from Malad in Raigad district also stated that efforts are being made to modify the portfolios that were earlier held by the Shiv Sena under the Mahayuti government. Gogavale expressed hopefulness that the portfolio discussions would be finalized in the next two days.
Devendra Fadnavis took oath as Maharashtra’s chief minister for the third time in a grand ceremony at Azad Maidan in South Mumbai. Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar were sworn in as his deputies. However, only these three leaders of the Mahayuti alliance took the oath and no other leaders were sworn during the event.
The Mahayuti coalition won 230 seats out of 288 in the recently concluded assembly elections. The alliance comprises the BJP, Shiv Sena, and NCP. As the coalition partners decide on portfolio allocation, the distribution of the main ministries continues to be a major topic of negotiation.
(With inputs from PTI)