Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 2 : The cabinet of the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra has expanded with the induction of 9 more ministers, an official statement issued by the state governor's office said on Sunday.
"The year-long Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis cabinet in Maharashtra was expanded with the induction of 9 ministers. State Governor Ramesh Bais administered the oath to NCP Leader Ajit Pawar as the second Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra," an official statement said.
The Governor also administered oath to Chhagan Bhujbal, Dilip Walse-Patil, Hasan Mushrif, Dhananjay Munde, Dharmarao Baba Atram, Aditi Tatkare, Sanjay Bansode and Anil Patil.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the newly appointed Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar were also present on the occasion.
The oath-taking ceremony started with the rendition of the national and the state anthems and concluded with the singing of the national anthem, the statement said.
Newly appointed Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said, "Today, we have decided to support the Maharashtra government and took oath as ministers. There will be a discussion on the portfolios later. Considering all aspects at the national level, we thought that we should support development."
Earlier today Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)'s senior leader Ajit Pawar on Sunday joined Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra and took oath as the deputy chief minister of the state.
In a dramatic turn of events, Pawar, along with nine MLAs, reached Raj Bhawan to meet Governor Ramesh Bais.
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