The cabinet expansion ceremony of the grand alliance government in Maharashtra took place in Nagpur on Sunday. A total of 39 MLAs from the BJP, Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), and the Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction) were sworn in as ministers. This included 33 cabinet ministers and six ministers of state, who took the oath of office and secrecy. However, the ceremony left several MLAs displeased for not being included, leading to public outbursts and disruptions.
Some disgruntled MLAs, including Chhagan Bhujbal, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Anil Patil, Tanaji Sawant, Prakash Solunke, Ravi Rana, and Vijay Shivtare, expressed their dissatisfaction publicly. While the legislative session was still underway, these MLAs reportedly left Nagpur and returned to their respective constituencies. This reaction has drawn sharp criticism, especially from the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS).
MNS CriticismMNS spokesperson Yogesh Khaire targeted the dissatisfied MLAs in a social media post, accusing them of betraying their voters. "Many MLAs are reportedly upset about not being given ministerial berths and have left the session to return to their constituencies. The people of their constituencies did not vote for them to become ministers. They were elected to make laws in the Assembly and raise constituency issues. Leaving the session because they were not given a ministerial post is a betrayal of the voters who sent them to the Legislative Assembly," said Khaire.
Tanaji Sawant's ProtestAmong the upset MLAs, Tanaji Sawant's reaction has garnered significant attention. Reports suggest he was unhappy about being excluded from the cabinet. In a symbolic move, Sawant changed his Facebook profile photo, removing any reference to Shiv Sena from his profile. He replaced it with an image of Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray. This act has sparked a debate in political circles, raising questions about Sawant's loyalty and signaling deeper dissatisfaction within the party ranks.