Mumbai: Chief minister Eknath Shinde on Sunday allocated portfolios to all 20 members of the council of ministers keeping urban development, transport and public works department with himself, while key ministries — home, finance and housing — went to deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.
The portfolios were distributed five days after the state government, comprising Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), inducted 18 ministers during the first cabinet expansion on August 9. Prior to that, for the past 41 days, only Shinde and Fadnavis were running the government.
The allocations come days before the monsoon session of the state’s legislature begins on August 17. The 23 remaining ministerial berths are likely to be filled in the second cabinet expansion in September, Shinde said on Saturday.
According to the list of portfolios, Shinde kept with himself urban development and 11 other departments — general administration department (GAD), information technology, public works (public projects), transport, marketing, social justice and special assistance, environment and climate change, relief and rehabilitation and disaster management, soil and water conservation, minority affairs, wakf. Besides, he will also look after all those departments that have not yet been allocated.
Shinde, whose rebellion against the Sena leadership led to the collapse of the Thackeray-led Maha Vikas Aghadi government, took oath as the CM on June 30 with the support of the BJP.
In addition to home, finance and housing, deputy CM Fadnavis will also handle planning, law and judiciary, water resources and catchment areas, energy and protocol departments.
BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil got the revenue department, which is considered the third most important portfolio in the state after home and finance. He will also handle the animal husbandry department.
Chandrakant Patil, former state BJP chief who is considered close to Union home minister Amit Shah, was given higher and technical education, parliamentary affairs and textile departments, according to the list shared by the chief minister’s office after nod from Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari. Patil was eyeing either home or revenue department.
Sudhir Mungantiwar will handle forest, fisheries development and cultural affairs portfolios. He was finance minister in the last Fadnavis government from 2014 to 2019.
“Through the state forest, the state government received four awards in the last BJP government. A presentation on the state forest department was also made in Poland at that time. I don’t think any department is less important,” he told reporters on Sunday.
Girish Mahajan, a close aide of Fadnavis, got rural development, medical education, sports and youth welfare departments. The rural development is important for the BJP in its outreach programme, party insiders said.
Atul Save has been given cooperation and OBC welfare departments, while Ravindra Chavan has got PWD, food and civil supplies and consumer protection ministries. Another BJP minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha was given tourism, women and child welfare, skill development and entrepreneurship departments. Dr Vijay Kumar Gavit got tribal development and Suresh Khade was allotted the labour department.
Ministers from Shinde-led Sena faction who have got important portfolios are Abdul Sattar (agriculture), Uday Samant (industries), Tanaji Sawant (public health and family welfare), Deepak Kesarkar (school education and Marathi language), Shambhuraj Desai (state excise) and Sanjay Rathod was has been given the responsibility of food and drug administration department. Gulabrao Patil has retained water supply and sanitation department, while Dada Bhuse will handle ports and mining. Sandipan Bhumre was allocated the employment guarantee scheme and horticulture departments.
Within hours, Kesarkar expressed his displeasure over the allocation. “Students from Konkan region are smart enough and created a record on their own (in studies). I will try to do more for them with the help of the school education department. However, I don’t think my department has much importance when it comes to the development of Konkan. The department is more useful for Marathwada where schools are in a bad shape,” said Kesarkar, who represents the Sawantwadi assembly constituency in Konkan region.
Fadnavis, however, denied any dispute over portfolio allocation. “We can swap the portfolios if needed. There is also no dispute as such over the allocation. It is all about the capability of a person who can run a particular department,” Fadnavis told reporters.
Opposition parties in the state have often criticised the ruling coalition over delay in allocating portfolios for over a month. “At least now the ministers who will be hoisting Tricolour on August 15 will have portfolios as well. They will now be available to resolve issues of the people for which I express my gratitude towards the state government,” said Jayant Patil, state NCP chief.
