Mumbai, July 14 Ending a logjam of two weeks, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde finally reshuffled his cabinet and entrusted the crucial Finance Department to the new second Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, here on Friday.
As per an official announcement, Ajit Pawar of the breakaway Nationalist Congress Party group got the Finance and Planning Departments despite strong reservations from the ruling Shiv Sena members, and even murmurs from the Bharatiya Janata Party.
The other BJP Deputy CM, Devendra Fadnavis, retained Home, Law and Justice, Water Resources, Energy, Energy, Protocol, etc.
The Chief Minister will continue to handle General Administration, Urban Development, Information Technology, Information and Public Relations, Transport, Social Justice, Environment and Climate Change, Mining and any other unallocated portfolios.
Other NCP leaders who have been given new responsibilities are Chhagan Bhujbal -- Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Dilip Walse-Patil -- Co-operation and Hasan M. Mushrif -- Medical Education and Special Assistance.
Similarly, Dharmarao Baba Bhagwantrao Atram got the Food and Drug Administration, Dhananjay P. Munde -- Agriculture, Anil Patil -- Relief and Rehabilitation, Disaster Management, and the sole woman in the cabinet was Aditi Sunil Tatkare -- Women & Child Development.
The much-awaited allocation of portfolios came two weeks after the NCP split on June 30, and Ajit Pawar and his team joined the Shinde-Fadnavis cabinet on July 2, though the proposal to expand the ministry has been put on hold for now.
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