NEW DELHI: Republican Party of India (Athawale) chief Ramdas Athawale claimed Maharastra CM Devendra Fadnavis had promised him that his party would get a berth in his state cabinet, expansion of which took place at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur on Sunday.
Awathle also expressed displeasure that he wasn’t invited to the oath-taking event, despite his party being part of ruling Mahayuti.
“The swearing-in ceremony of ministers in the Maharashtra cabinet expansion is being organised in Nagpur. CM and DCMs are attending the ceremony there. Despite being a part of Mahayuti, I did not even get the invitation to the ceremony…Republican Party Of India (A) performed well in the Vidhan Sabha elections…We held meetings with Devendra Fadnavis and he promised to give us at least one ministry, but in this expansion, we do not have any face from the RPI(A)…We demand at least one ministry in this cabinet expansion,” Athawale was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
Even last month, Athawale expressed his desire to get a ministerial post for his party in Maharashtra government as “Mahayuti has received a majority of Dalit votes” in the state polls.
Athawale presently serves as the minister of state for social justice and empowerment in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.
“Earlier also we had demanded one ministerial post for RPI. This time Mahayuti has received a majority of Dalit votes…So, I feel that RPI should get a ministerial post. Our society also has this hope. Giving a ministerial post to RPI will also benefit Mahayuti,” Athawale told ANI.
The Maharashtra cabinet was sworn in on Sunday in the presence of chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered oath to the 39 ministers at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur.
In the recently concluded Maharashtra polls, the ruling BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory by winning 230 (BJP-132, Shiv Sena-57, NCP-41) out of total 288 seats.
In contrast, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered a major setback. The Shiv Sena (UBT), led by Uddhav Thackeray, won only 20 seats, Congress managed 16, and the NCP(SP) led by Sharad Pawar won just 10 seats.
The BJP demonstrated an impressive strike, winning 132 of the 148 seats it contested in Maharashtra. The party’s allies, the Shiv Sena and NCP factions, also performed well.