Maharashtra cabinet: Why Eknath Shinde’s role in Devendra Fadnavis' govt is more powerful than you think

Maharashtra Cabinet: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis retained the Home ministry as portfolio allocations were announced on Saturday evening. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde got the Urban Development portfolio while another Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar has been allocated the Finance department.

Clearly, Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde’s party has emerged as number two in Fadnavis-led Maharashtra government. The party has bagged plum portfolios in the government among the three Mahayuti alliance partners – the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).

Fadnavis and his two deputies took oath on December 5 after the ruling alliance secured a landslide return to power in the state. Governor PC Radhakrishnan administered the oath to 39 new ministers in Fadanvis' cabinet on December 15 in Nagpur, a day before the start of the winter session of the state legislature.

As many as 11 key ministers from Maharashtra's ruling alliance Mahayuti were dropped in the new government headed by Fadnavis.

Lion's Share in Ministries 

Shinde clearly seems to have bargained hard with the BJP – the single largest party with 132 seats in the 288-member Maharashtra assembly – to get the lion's share in the portfolio allocation. Apart from Urban Development, Housing and Public Works portfolios for himself, Shinde managed to get heavyweight departments like Industries, Public Health, Water and School Education, among others, for the party.

The Shiv Sena also managed to retain Minister of State portfolios which it held earlier government led by Eknath Shinde. It is another matter that Shinde had to contend with the Deputy CM post. Shinde also could not get Home, the portfolio he had been eyeing.

But with the Urban Development ministry with him, Shinde has control on all the urban local bodies and key infrastructure and housing agencies in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and other cities of the state like the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), the City and Industrial Development Corporation of Maharashtra (CIDCO) and the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC).

Shinde and 11 Sena MLAs were inducted in the Fadnavis' ministry last week. Shinde has kept the key portfolios of Urban Development, Housing and Public Works (Public Enterprises) for himself, Uday Samant got the Industries and Marathi language ministries. Prakash Abitkar got Public Health & Family Welfare and Dada Bhuse bagged School Education.

Among other Shiv Sena leaders, Bharat Gogawale has got Transport ministry while Gulabrao Patil got Water Supply and Sanitation. The Soil & Water Conservation portfolio has been given to Sanjay Rathod, while Tourism, Mining, Ex-Servicemen Welfare to Shambhuraj Desai. The Ministry of Social Justice has been given to Sanjay Shirsat.

Among Ministers of State, Ashish Jaiswal has been assigned Finance & Planning, Agriculture, Relief & Rehabilitation, Law and Judiciary, Labour, Yogesh Kadam is the MoS for Home (Urban), Revenue, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Food Civil Supplies & Consumer Protection, Food & Drug Administration.

Overall, Shiv Sena has got nine Cabinet and two ministers of state in the new government. It has retained five ministers and dropped three who were part of the previous Mahayuti government.