Highlights
- Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is set to expand his cabinet tomorrow
- Rebel MLAs of Sena who served under Thackeray will likely be inducted into Shinde's cabinet
- Shinde was sworn in as the CM on June 30 along with Fadnavis, who took oath as the Deputy CM
Maharashtra cabinet expansion: Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde is set to expand his cabinet tomorrow, after 40 days of himself taking oath post a dramatic stint leading to the resignation of then-CM Uddhav Thackeray. Sources close to India TV informed that the rebel MLAs of the Shiv Sena who had served under Thackeray will likely be inducted into Shinde's cabinet. The expansion is finally happening almost 40 days after Shinde and Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the chief minister and deputy chief minister, respectively.
The MLAs in the Shinde faction said they will meet at the state government's Sahyadri Guest House on Tuesday morning. The oath-taking ceremony is slated to be held at 11 AM at the Raj Bhavan.
“We have not received any communication from the chief minister so far. We will get more clarity on it in tomorrow's meeting,” said a rebel MLA who was a member of the Thackeray cabinet. Of the 55 MLAs of Shiv Sena, 40 have aligned with Shinde. The revolt led to the collapse of the Thackeray-led government in June.
Shinde was sworn in as the CM on June 30 along with Fadnavis, who took oath as the Deputy CM. A dozen ministers will take oath at Tuesday's ceremony at Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai at 11 AM, a close aide of Shinde had said. The chief minister told reporters in Nanded on Monday evening that the names of MLAs who will take oath as ministers will be finalised by Monday night or on Tuesday.
List of probable ministers who will be inducted tomorrow:
BJP
- Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil
- Sudhir Mungantiwar
- Girish Mahajan
- Chandrakant Patil
- Vijaykumar Gavit
- Suresh Khade
From Eknath Shinde camp
- Gulabrao Patil
- Uday Samant
- Dada Bhuse
- Sandipan Bhumre
- Shambhuraj Desai
- Bachchu Kadu
Meeting at Fadnavis' residence
Senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders assembled at the Mumbai residence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to discuss the names of the probable to be inducted into the state cabinet on Tuesday. Besides finalising the names of new ministers who will take the oath at Raj Bhavan, the BJP leaders are learnt to have discussed the organisational appointments to be made ahead of crucial civic elections in Mumbai and other cities and the 2024 Lok Saba elections.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Monday evening said he will expand his 40-day-old ministry on August 9. Shinde was sworn in as the CM on June 30 along with Fadnavis, who took oath as Deputy CM.
“The ministry expansion is slated for tomorrow,” Shinde told reporters at Nanded in the Marathwada region.
A dozen ministers will take oath at Tuesday’s ceremony at Raj Bhavan in south Mumbai at 11 am, an aide of Shinde had told PTI on condition of anonymity. The next round of expansion would take place later, he added. Currently, Shinde and Fadnavis are the only two ministers in the 40-day-old government.
