Devendra Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar, Eknath Shinde
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s cabinet was expanded on Sunday. A total of 39 MLAs were sworn in as ministers in the Fadnavis cabinet, including 33 cabinet ministers and 6 state ministers. Fadnavis’s cabinet appears to be a radical departure from the two-and-a-half-year-old government led by Shinde. Not only did the face of power change, but so did the number and form of cabinets. Fadnavis is not only trying to win over allies in the cabinet but also trying to create caste equality and regional balance, by removing many senior leaders from the cabinet and making way for new faces.
The number of cabinet members increased to 42, including the chief minister and two deputy ministers. Maharashtra can appoint up to 43 ministers and after 39 ministers were sworn in on Sunday, one minister’s post will fall vacant in the cabinet. Four women have been appointed ministers in Fadnavis’ cabinet, three from the BJP quota and one from the NCP quota. The Shiv Sena party in Sindh does not have a single woman minister. At the same time, there is no demarcation of ministerial portfolios but clear faces of Fadnavis’ team have come to the fore, a clear indication of Mahayut’s attempt to uphold the dharma of the alliance and create a divide between the experienced and experienced Create balance. youth.
United Religion Balance of Power
CM Fadnavis allocated shares to various parties in the cabinet based on their strength. 19 ministers from the BJP quota, 11 ministers from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena quota and Ajit Pawar’s national Nine ministers from the Communist Party (NCP) camp have been included in the cabinet. Among them, the BJP appointed 16 cabinet ministers, the Shiv Sena appointed 9 and the New Samajwadi Party (NSP) appointed 8 cabinet ministers. If we look at the list of state ministers, the BJP has three, the Shiv Sena has two and the NCP has one. Devendra Fadnavis became the chief minister of the BJP, Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and NCP leader Ajit Pawar became deputy chief ministers. In this way, the cabinets become 20, 12, and 10.
In the assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won the most with 132 seats, the Shiv Sena Party of Sindh won 57 seats and the National Congress Party led by Ajit Pawar won 41 seats. The BJP managed to win twice as many parliamentary seats as the Shiv Sena and three times as many as the NCP. In terms of parliamentary seats, the BJP is not only trying to create alliances but also trying to balance power by giving more ministerial posts to the Shiv Sena and the NCP.
What is the difference between Fadnavis cabinets and Shinde?
The Fadnavis cabinet is very different from the Eknath Shinde government that was in power under Eknath Shinde in Maharashtra from 2022 to 2024. Cabinets vary in number and form. After the Uddhav Thackeray government was ousted in 2022, Eknath Shinde and 38 Shiv Sena MLAs formed the government along with the BJP. The cabinet then decided on an equal package. Eknath Shinde became chief minister and nine MLAs from his party became ministers. Devendra Fadnavis of the Bharatiya Janata Party became deputy chief minister and nine of the party’s MLAs became ministers. Later, when Ajit Pawar came with 40 NCP MLAs, he was made deputy minister and eight of his MLAs were made ministers.
Shinde’s cabinet has a total of 29 ministers, including the chief minister and two deputy ministers. Fadnavis’ cabinet now has 42 ministers, including the chief minister. As a result, the Fadnavis government has 13 more ministers than the Shinde cabinet. Apart from this, there are two Muslim ministers in Shinde’s cabinet, while there is only one Muslim minister in the Fadnavis government. Shiv Sena’s Abdul Sattar from Sindhi Party did not get a seat in the cabinet this time, while Ajit Pawar appointed his Hassan Mashrif as a minister.
Sindh ministers removed from cabinet
Many veterans who had served as ministers in the Shinde government could not get a place in Fadnavis’ cabinet. There are 15 such faces in Fadnavis’ cabinet, who are getting the opportunity to serve as ministers for the first time. Meanwhile, many senior leaders who had served in the Shinde government lost their jobs in the Fadnavis government. While senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal, who is seen as the face of the OBC, was not made a minister, Dilip Walse Patil was also not given a ministerial post. The BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar and the Shiv Sena’s Abdul Sattar and Deepak Kesarkar are yet to enter the cabinet.
Chhagan Bhujbal is not only a senior leader of the NCP, he is also considered the most senior leader of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) in Maharashtra. Sudhir Mungantiwar is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He also served as a minister in the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government first formed in 1995, the Fadnavis government in 2014 and the Shinde government in 2022. Abdul Sattar and Deepak Kesarkar are believed to be close to Eknath Shinde. Mungantiwar, Ravindra Chavan and Vijay Kumar Gavit also did not get the BJP quota. Abdul Sattar, Arjun Khotkar and Tanaji Sawant have also been removed from the Shinde Shiv Sena.
Fadnavis solves caste equation
Devendra Fadnavis tried to resolve issues of caste and politics through the cabinet. If we look at the list of 19 ministers in the BJP quota, we will find that it includes not only OBCs, Marathas, Dalits, tribals but also Brahmins and Kayasthas. That is why OBC appointed maximum number of ministers, 11 OBC ministers, while providing seats to 5 Maratha communities. Apart from this, a Rajput, a Dalit and a tribal were appointed as ministers. The BJP has handed over power to Brahmins and appointed top ministers from OBCs.
Ajit Pawar, meanwhile, kept his core vote bank intact through ministers he selected from quotas. Three ministers from the OBC community were appointed ministers and four Maratha leaders were appointed ministers. Apart from this, a Muslim and a tribal were also given seats. Ajit Pawar expressed utmost confidence in the Maratha community. Likewise, if we look at Eknath Shinde’s ministerial caste equation based on quota, he appointed four ministers from OBC and four ministers from Maratha community. Apart from this, a Dalit and a Brahmin were appointed ministers.
How does Fadnavis create regional balance?
Devendra Fadnavis has worked hard to create regional balance in Maharashtra through his massive cabinet. Devendra Fadnavis gave up his seat in the cabinet to leaders representing all six districts of Maharashtra. While the highest number of ministers in the BJP quota are from Vidarbha and north Maharashtra, Shinde is paying special attention to MLAs from Mumbai and Konkan regions. Most of the ministers from Western Maharashtra and Marathwada region were generated under Ajit Pawar’s quota. The BJP also takes special care of Mumbai and Western Maharashtra.
