All is not well in Eknath Shinde camp as each rebel wants some or the other position in the cabinet. Shinde cannot afford to disappoint any of the rebels at this juncture. He got a plum post so BJP veterans want crucial profiles for their kitty. Meanwhile, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis reached Delhi to take the approval of seniors on cabinet listing.
He will seek approval from the BJP leadership about the final allotments in the state cabinet, which need urgent decisions with the assembly session due to begin later this month. Cabinet expansion has been pending since June 30, when Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Mr Fadnavis took the oath. If BJP’s central leaders agree on the list, then the Cabinet expansion might happen on 5th August.
Shinde did not go to Delhi, and they deliberately avoided him in Devendra’s meeting with his party chiefs. To hide the embarrassment, they spread the news that Shinde is unwell and skipping the trip. Shinde and Fadnavis had visited Delhi last on July 27, with a draft of the cabinet list. But no decision was taken, with too many aspirants for the maximum 43 seats in the cabinet, including the Chief Minister. Shiv Sena leaders who supported Shinde during his two-week rebellion and helped topple the Uddhav Thackeray government, expect to be rewarded.
So does the BJP for its behind-the-screen role. As the Chief Minister, Shinde has his eyes on the plum portfolios. Fadnavis — a former Chief Minister who has been persuaded to take up the role of Shinde’s deputy by the BJP’s chief strategist Amit Shah and party Chief JP Nadda — is not willing to back down in this area. The BJP and the Sena faction led by Shinde are not ready to conclude about the power-sharing in the cabinet.
Finally, 15 ministers can take oath including 8 BJP MLAs and 7 Eknath Shinde group legislators. In 2 or 3 rounds, the Cabinet expansion may happen. From BJP Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, Amrish Patel (MLC), Ravindra Chavhan, Ashok Uike, Chandrashekhar Bawankule (can get cabinet berth in the second phase of expansion). Ashish Shellar , Pravin Darekar, Ganesh Naik , Sambhaji Nilangekar , Prashant Thakur, Chandrakant Patil , Sanjay Kute, Subhash Deshmukh, Shivendra Raje Bhonsle. Kishore Jorgewar.
From Eknath Shinde’s group, Gulabrao Patil, Uday Samant , Dada Bhuse , Sandipan Bhumre, Deepak Kesarkar, Sanjay Rathod, Tanaji Sawant, Sambhuraje Desai , Abdul Sattar, Ashish Jaiswal. There are others who are expecting to get something, but their fate is not decided yet. There are chances that the cabinet expansion may create unrest in the Shinde camp. The state legislature’s monsoon session is scheduled to start on July 18.
After a lot of criticism by opponents, Shinde listed major decisions taken by his government and mentioned reducing fuel prices, granting approval for constructing a Metro car shed at Aarey Colony in Mumbai and proposed diversion of rainwater to drought-prone areas of Marathwada in central Maharashtra. Responding to the controversy over the shifting of the proposed MIDC (Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation) area from Saswad in Pune to Koregaon town in the adjoining Satara district, Shinde said any decision on the issue will be taken only after considering technical aspects and the availability of land. All eyes are on cabinet expansion and the aftermath of it.
