MUMBAI: After chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputies, Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde, took oath of office on Thursday, Shiv Sena MLAs Bharat Gogawale and Sanjay Shirsat said the cabinet expansion might take place on Wednesday next week, a few days before the winter session of the legislature begins in Nagpur on Monday, Dec 16.
BJP functionaries said the party might take 20-22 ministries. They said the Shiv Sena might get 11-12 ministerial berths and the NCP, 8-10 portfolios.
Also read: 'Eknath Shinde was reluctant to join Maharashtra govt sans assurances' The Mahayuti govt is yet to finalise an exact power-sharing formula among the three partners, and the portfolios of home, revenue, urban development, irrigation and social justice are expected to be hotly contested.
Major backroom negotiations are expected to take place between the three parties before any conclusion on portfolio allocation is reached.
It is still not clear whether all the cabinet berths will be filled up on Wednesday or the expansion will be done in two to three rounds after a few weeks or months.
The total ministers in the outgoing Shinde-Fadnavis-Pawar govt numbered 29. The permitted strength of the council of ministers is 43. It is not clear if this time the Mahayuti govt will fill up all the berths.
The BJP is likely to keep the plum portfolios of home, revenue, urban development, irrigation, forests, transport, higher and technical education, and housing, besides departments like culture, tribal development, general administration, law and judiciary, and information technology (IT).
Also read: How RSS held its ground to seal Maharashtra CM seat for Devendra FadnavisNCP is keen on keeping finance for Dy CM Pawar. The party also wants cooperation, agriculture, food and civil supplies, ports, relief and rehabilitation, irrigation, social justice, and women and child development. These are portfolios that have a public interface and are linked to rural voters, the party's main base.
For Dy CM Shinde, the Shiv Sena is seeking the home portfolio and wants to retain all its nine existing ministries. These include the important industries and urban development portfolios. The Shiv Sena is also keen on energy, revenue, irrigation, and public works department (PWD).
Shiv Sena functionaries said that when Shinde was the chief minister, the BJP bagged all these ministries, so when the BJP bags the CM's post, the Shiv Sena should get the plum departments in the same ratio.
'Model MLA'
"We are willing to concede some of the ministries as certain other things have been brought to the table. So we are still asking for the home portfolio and other key portfolios. It is not the case that we have given up the home portfolio," the Shiv Sena functionary said.
Shinde joined the new govt after a day of high drama, where Shiv Sena MLAs made several parleys and requested Shinde to join the govt.
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