According to news agency ANI, the eagerly anticipated Maharashtra cabinet enlargement is set to happen tomorrow, Tuesday, August 9, at 11 am at Maharashtra Raj Bhavan.
The Maharashtra cabinet enlargement will happen on Tuesday, 9 August, according to a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician who was quoted by the news agency PTI on Monday.
“The cabinet expansion will take place tomorrow in Mumbai. I cannot divulge any details about it and who will be in the cabinet,” a senior BJP leader told PTI on Monday.
“The monsoon session of the state legislature has to be held at the earliest, so we decided to induct 12 legislators in the ministry expansion. Some of those taking the oath on Tuesday would be from the Legislative Council,” a close aide of Eknath Shinde said.
The state government’s operation has not been impacted in any way by the delay in the council of ministers’ enlargement, according to Shinde, who also promised that more ministers will be appointed soon.
The news agency had reported last week that deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis is anticipated to retain the important home portfolio while Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde is anticipated to add at least 15 new ministers to his cabinet this week.
Ajit Pawar, the leader of the NCP and a former deputy chief minister, as well as other opposition leaders have criticised both of the ministers for operating as a two-member cabinet. “Ajit Pawar is leader of the opposition. He will have to say such things. Ajit dada conveniently forgets that when he was in the government there were just five ministers for the first 32 days,” Fadnavis said on Sunday.
Fadnavis added that the BJP has set out on a quest to increase its presence in Maharashtra ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections by targeting 16 parliamentary districts where opposition parties have enjoyed a string of victories. According to the newspaper, he claimed that these constituencies included those held by Shiv Sena officials who have since joined the Shinde camp.
Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had stated on August 6 that secretaries had not been given ministerial-level authority outside of quasi-judicial affairs. The Chief Minister was accused by the state’s opposition of acting as a two-member cabinet and giving the bureaucrats the authority to make decisions.
On June 30, CM Eknath Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis seized office after the Uddhav Thackeray-led administration was overthrown. No additional cabinet members have been appointed as of yet.
