The Maharashtra cabinet expansion and distribution of cabinet portfolios will be completed by the evening today, Raigad Lok Sabha MP and NCP leader Sunil Tatkare said. Amid the ongoing tussle between Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP over cabinet ministries, Pawar, along with Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel, travelled to Delhi on Wednesday afternoon to meet the BJP leadership and finalise the portfolio allocation.
According to sources, Pawar, who was recently inducted as the deputy CM, was promised the finance portfolio, and he hasn’t sought any other key portfolio such as home or urban development department (UDD).The key issue is the redistribution of other portfolios among the CM Eknath Shinde-led Sena faction. The Shinde group was under the impression that the BJP’s portfolios will be given to NCP. But that isn’t the case.The portfolios from the Shinde group, too, are being looked at for the reshuffle, which has upset the Shinde faction, said sources, adding that 22 MLAs of his MLAs are restless. Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 cabinet ministers. As of now, 29 of these positions have been filled and the list of ministerial aspirants has grown lengthier. “It would be a very difficult task for CM Shinde to choose the cabinet ministers. There is a chance that he may consider factors like caste while picking MLAs for cabinet berths, the way Ajit Pawar has tried to give representation to OBC, SC-ST, and minorities while selecting MLAs who had taken oath as cabinet ministers with him,” said a senior leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party.