The cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party government in Maharashtra is set to take place today with the new ministers taking the oath of office at a ceremony in Nagpur, news agency PTI reported, citing official sources. A senior BJP leader told PTI on Friday that 30-32 ministers are likely to take oath. This comes ahead of the week-long winter session of the state legislature that is slated to begin in Nagpur, Maharashtra's second capital, on December 16.
Devendra Fadnavis took an oath as Chief Minister with Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde and NCP chief Ajit Pawar as his deputies at a grand ceremony in Mumbai on December 5. The council of ministers in Maharashtra can have a maximum of 43 members, including the chief minister. On Friday, state BJP chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule met deputy CMs Shinde and Ajit Pawar separately to finalize cabinet formation. Hectic parleys were witnessed at Ajit Pawar's Deogiri bungalow in south Mumbai, where he met his party leaders.
According to senior BJP leaders, two formulas are under discussion. One is 15:8:7 in which 15 ministers of the BJP will take oath, eight of deputy CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and seven of Ajit Pawar-led NCP. The second formula is 10:4:4 under which 10 ministers of BJP and four each of Shiv Sena and NCP will be sworn in. Maharashtra assembly’s winter session will begin in Nagpur on Monday. Ministers will take oath on Sunday so that they will tackle Opposition’s questions in the House. “Therefore, for the first time, the swearing-in ceremony of the ministers is taking place in Nagpur,” the BJP leader said.In the assembly polls held last month, the Mahayuti swept to power, winning 230 out of 288 seats in the state. The saffron party led with 132 seats, followed by Shinde's Shiv Sena with 57 and Pawar's NCP getting 41. The government formation has already seen its fair share of twists and turns, with Shinde making way for Fadnavis on the top post.