Maharashtra Cabinet expansion: 39 ministers join Fadnavis Govt, mid-term review to decide their tenure

THE MUCH-AWAITED Cabinet expansion of the BJP-led government in Maharashtra took place Sunday with Governor C P Radhakrishnan administering the oath of office to 39 ministers at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur. But the ministers were inducted with a rider: Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said their tenure will be for two-and-a-half years, and their continuance will depend on a review of their individual performances.

Many in the ruling alliance feel this will not only fix accountability and put pressure on the ministers to perform considering the huge mandate for the Mahayuti in the Assembly polls, a mid-term change also gives hope to others who could not make the cut this time around.

“We in the BJP are going to have a performance audit of every minister. Where it is found that the minister is not working as per expectations, there will be change,” Fadnavis said at a press meet, flanked by Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, after the oath-taking ceremony.

“We three have told the ministers that every minister will face the performance audit,” he said, adding that portfolios will be allotted in two days.

Shinde said, “Many people are capable of becoming ministers. We as a party have decided to give ministerial posts for two-and-a-half years. Many more will get an opportunity because of this. This is like perform or perish.”

Shinde and Pawar, leaders of Mahayuti allies Shiv Sena and NCP, respectively, said the tenure condition has been conveyed to ministers of their parties as well.

At a party function ahead of the swearing-in ceremony, Pawar said, “In this government, we have decided to give responsibility for two-and-half years to some ministers and ministers of state. It will ensure that more leaders are given an opportunity and more districts get justice.”

Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule takes oath as a state cabinet Minister. (PTI)

Pawar said that he along with Fadnavis and Shinde have unanimously agreed on this arrangement.

The statement comes against the backdrop of possible discontent among a section of MLAs for being left out of the ministry and also to keep the newly inducted ministers under check, linking their performance with their tenure.

Explained

Mid-term test, hope for others

WITH PRESSURE to deliver on people’s expectations after a huge mandate, the ruling Mahayuti leaders have devised a novel idea of appointing ministers for two-and-a-half years. While this is expected to put pressure on the ministers to stand up to the task, it will also give hope to those who missed out this time around. The Mahayuti won 230 of the 288 seats in the recent elections.

“The ruling alliance has won the election with a mammoth majority. That should not let the ministers get off track. This is not a warning but a reminder to perform better,” an NCP leader said.

Of the 39 new ministers33 took oath as Cabinet ministers and six as ministers of state (MoS). Of them, 18 are first-time ministers.

With the Chief Minister and two Deputy Chief Ministers, the total strength of the ministry has now reached 42, one short of the permissible limit. The average age of the ministerial team is now 55.38 years – the youngest being NCP’s Aditi Tatkare (36) and the oldest is BJP’s Ganesh Naik (74).

Among the newly inducted ministers, the BJP has got the largest share of 19 berths (16 Cabinet ministers and 3 MoS), followed by Shiv Sena’s 11 (9 Cabinet ministers and two MoS) and NCP’s 9 (8 Cabinet ministers and one MoS).

In a surprising move, all three ruling allies dropped senior ministers from the previous Cabinet. From the BJP, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Ravindra Chavan, Vijaykumar Gavit and Suresh Khade were dropped. From Shiv Sena, Tanaji Sawant, Deepak Kesarkar and Adbul Sattar were dropped while from the NCP, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse-Patil, Dharmarao Atram, Anil Patil and Sanjay Bansode were not included.

The first-time Cabinet ministers include Nitesh Rane, Shivendrasinh Bhosle, Jaikumar Gore, Sanjay Sawkare and Akash Phundkar from the BJP. The first-timers from the Shiv Sena include Pratap Sarnaik, Sanjay Shirsat, Bharat Gogawale and Prakash Abitkar while from the NCP, they include Narhari Zirwal, Makarand Jadhav-Patil and Babasaheb Patil.

All six Ministers of State are also first-timers. They are Madhuri Misal, Pankaj Bhoyar and Meghana Bordikar (BJP); Ashish Jaiswal and Yogesh Kadam (Shiv Sena); and Indraneel Naik (NCP).

While the ruling alliance tried to keep a regional balance, 15 districts got no representation in the Council of Ministers. Out of these, seven are in Vidarbha region, four in Marathwada, two in Western Maharashtraone each in North Maharashtra and Thane-Konkan regions.

This is the first time the swearing-in ceremony of a full-fledged Cabinet expansion took place in Nagpur. The city hosted the swearing-in ceremony of a mini expansion in 1991 after the rebellion in Shiv Sena by Chhagan Bhujbal. Bhujbal had then taken oath in the Congress’s Sudhakarrao Naik government while six others were sworn in as deputy ministers.

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