MUMBAI: Almost a month after the Maharashtra assembly election results (declared on Nov 23), portfolios in the new Mahayuti govt were allocated on Saturday evening.
While CM Devendra Fadnavis has held on to the home portfolio which deputy CM Eknath Shinde was seeking, the Shiv Sena chief succeeded in retaining the key urban development, housing and public works departments.
The other deputy CM, Ajit Pawar, has retained the finance and planning portfolios and has got excise too.
Plum portfolios mean Shinde still No. 2
Though Shinde did not get home in the CM’s list of portfolios approved by governor C P Radhakrishnan on the last day of the winter session, the allocation clearly indicates he is No. 2 in govt given the plum ministries he has got and the fact that he will control all the urban local bodies and key agencies like MMRDA, Cidco and MSRDC which are important for Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Sena sources said that if not home, Shinde was keen on getting housing and MSDRC in addition to urban development, and BJP conceded these. Besides, Sena has managed to retain most of its existing portfolios from the previous Mahayuti govt.
CM Fadnavis has kept energy, law and judiciary, general administration department, information and publicity departments.
BJP’s Chandrashekhar Bawankule is revenue minister, while Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has got water resources (Godavari and Krishna Valley Development Corporation). The water resources department has been split, with its other half comprising Vidarbha, Tapi and Konkan Development Corporation along with disaster management given to BJP’s Girish Mahajan.
From Sena, Shambhuraj Desai has got tourism, mining and ex-servicemen’s welfare, Pratap Sarnaik has got transport, Uday Samant has retained the industries department along with Marathi language, Gulabrao Patil has been given water supply and sanitation, and Dada Bhuse has got school education while Sanjay Rathod has been given soil and water conservation.
From BJP, Chandrakant Patil has got higher and technical education and parliamentary affairs, Ganesh Naik has got forests, while Atul Save has been allotted OBC welfare, dairy development and renewable energy departments.
BJP’s Pankaja Munde has got environment and climate change and animal husbandry while her cousin, NCP’s Dhananjay Munde, has got food and civil supplies and consumer protection. Munde is the only MLC who is a minister in Mahayuti govt; all other ministers are MLAs.
While NCP’s Hasan Mushrif will look after medical education, Dattatray Bharne has got sports and youth welfare, minorities development and waqf, and Aditi Tatkare has retained women and child development that runs the Ladki Bahin Yojana. NCP’s former deputy speaker Narhari Zirwal has been given food and drug administration and special assistance.