Maharashtra portfolios: Fadnavis keeps Home, Shinde Urban Development; Ajit gets Finance

Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis allocates portfolios to ministers, retaining Home department; key departments assigned to council members.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis retained Home department and law and judiciary department, while Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar got Urban Development department and finance department respectively, in the portfolio allocation among the cabinet ministers in Maharashtra on Saturday (December 21, 2024).

Tiding over their internal differences, the Mahayuti partners finally announced the cabinet portfolio allocation on the last day of the winter session of Maharashtra legislative assembly. Portfolios were announced for all the 33 cabinet ministers and six ministers of State. The portfolio allocation has also changed the formula of the last government. Some portfolios have been reshuffled among the three parties, but the three top leaders will continue to handle their favourite departments.

BJP has been successful in keeping the revenue portfolio with itself, while women and child development department will continue to be with NCP’s Aditi Tatkare though there were speculations on whether it will be handed over to a senior woman minister from the BJP. Young faces have been given an opportunity in this cabinet. BJP’s Nitesh Rane and Jaykumar Gore will handle fisheries and rural development respectively.

Mr. Fadnavis will handle five portfolios including some of his favourites like Home, Energy (excluding renewable energy), law and judiciary, General Administration department, Information and Publicity (and departments not allotted to any other ministers). DCM Eknath Shinde will retain his favourite Urban Development department, along with two other portfolios - Housing and Public Works (public enterprises). DCM Ajit Pawar will continue to handle Finance and Planning department, along with State Excise (which was earlier with Eknath Shinde group).

Though Home portfolio was denied to Eknath Shinde, his minister Yogesh Kadam has been given MoS Home (rural). Some ministers have had to take a step down from their previous portfolio. Senior BJP leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who was the revenue minister in the previous government, will now be the water resources minister. Amid protests in Beed and the controversy around NCP leader Dhananjay Mundhe’s name, he has been named the food and civil supplies minister. He was earlier the agriculture minister. Shiv Sena’s Uday Samant will continue to be the industries’ minister in this government as well.

The berth allocation was announced a week after the cabinet expansion, and almost a month after the State Assembly election results in Maharashtra.

Chandrashekhar Bawankule will head the Ministry of Revenue.