Raut's claim: Soon after the portfolio allocation to the newly inducted NCP MLAs in the Maharashtra government, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Friday (July 14) claimed that Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar could take charge of the helm of the government while sitting Chief Minister Eknath Shinde will 'certainly' be replaced.
"Ajit Pawar could become the CM in the future. It is certain that the CM (Eknath Shinde) will be replaced,” Raut claimed.
This comes after Ajit Pawar, who was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister in the Shinde government on July 2, was allocated the Finance and Planning departments.
In a much-talked-about cabinet expansion of the Maharashtra government after the induction of nine NCP MLAs including Ajit Pawar, the portfolio allocation was done today, nearly 12 days after the shocking move earlier this month, leading to the NCP split.
Cabinet Minister Anil Patil got Relief and Rehabilitation, Disaster Management Department, Aditi Sunil Tatkare - Women and Child Development, Dhananjay Munde was given Agriculture, Dilip Walse Patil got Co-operative Department and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil got Revenue, Animal Husbandry.
What LoP in Maha Council said?
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve said time is exacting revenge on the Shiv Sena 40 MLAs who rebelled against Uddhav Thackeray.
Danve said that during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government, the (undivided) Shiv Sena MLAs had accused Ajit Pawar of depriving them of funds, and today the same NCP leader has been given the responsibility of Finance in the state.
Shinde’s rebellion last year had split the Shiv Sena into two and resulted in the collapse of the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government, which comprised of Sena, Congress, and NCP. Shinde then joined hands with the BJP to become the chief minister in June 2022.
Ajit Pawar and his supporters became a part of the ruling government earlier this month after breaking away from the Sharad Pawar-founded NCP.
As per sources, the delay in the Maharashtra cabinet expansion was credited to a stalemate between Ajit Pawar's camp and the Eknath Shinde group over the money and arranging portfolios. According to additional sources, the Shinde camp is dissatisfied with Pawar's insistence on securing the NCP's finance and cooperative ministries.
This tussle might have been settled in late-night conferences between Shinde, his deputy Fadnavis, and Ajit Pawar on July 10-11. NCP working president Praful Patel stated on Wednesday that the issue of portfolio distribution had been resolved and that "the allocation of portfolios will happen in a day or two.
(With PTI inputs)
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