Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader who spearheaded a mutiny against his uncle and party chief Sharad Pawar last month, joining the Shiv Sena-BJP government in Maharashtra as Deputy Chief Minister, has been rewarded with the keys to the state's treasury.
Nine NCP MLAs who were inducted into the Maharashtra state cabinet last month, capping months of speculation about a rebellion, finally received their portfolios on Friday.
Ajit Pawar will be taking over the Finance Ministry, a key portfolio in the state government, besides the Planning Department. Chhagan Bhujbal will oversee the Food Civil Supply and Consumer Protection Department, while Dharamraobaba Atram will head the Drug and Administration (FDA) portfolio.
The Department of Cooperation will be under the stewardship of Dilip Walse Patil and Dhananjay Munde has been assigned Agriculture. Hasan Mushrif will manage the Medical Education department, while Anil Patil will lead Relief and Rehabilitation, as well as Disaster Management.
Aditi Tatkare is set to run the Women and Child Welfare department, with Sanjay Bansode receiving the Sports and Youth Welfare, and Port portfolios.
The allocation comes following a split in the Sharad Pawar-led NCP and the subsequent induction of these nine MLAs into the Shiv Sena-BJP government last month. The move ignited a fervent debate over portfolio distribution, with reports of discontent among some older members of the coalition.
"The cabinet expansion and allocation of portfolios were bound to happen, it was only a matter of time," said Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday, amidst widespread speculation and objections raised by some party factions.
However, the Shiv Sena faction led by former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had cast doubts that the cabinet expansion would proceed smoothly, considering the imbalance in the number of MLAs vying for ministerial positions and the actual posts available.
Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, said, "There is a lot of discontent among the BJP workers. It is very difficult to meet the expectations of MLAs of the three parties."
Mr Danve also raised questions over the possible neglect of the Eknath Shinde-led faction of the Shiv Sena in the cabinet expansion, a concern echoed by Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut.
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