Union minister and RPI (A) chief Ramdas Athawale has demanded a berth for his party in the Maharashtra cabinet and is set to meet Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in this connection.
“The RPI needs a five per cent share in seat sharing and hence, there should be one RPI minister in the state cabinet,” he said.
The Republican Party of India (Athawale) currently does not have any member in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly or Council.
“The candidate (for a ministerial berth) can be first elected to the state’s Upper House,” Athawale, a Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, said.
The next round of elections for the Maharashtra Legislative Council is slated for July 16 and Athawale said that the Fadnavis government should support an RPI candidate on one of the seats.
He added that the chairmanship of three state-run corporations should be allocated to the RPI.
The Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment also demanded that 40 of his party workers be given membership in various state institutions.
“Pressure is being built across the state to include the RPI in the state cabinet. It has been four years (since the Fadnavis government took charge in October, 2014) and there has been no representation for the RPI in the Maharashtra government,” Athawale said.
