AMN / MUMBAI
The Maharashtra cabinet was expanded this evening with the inclusion of 33 cabinet ministers and 6 ministers of state. The swearing-in ceremony was held in Nagpur. Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office and secrecy to the newly inducted ministers of the ruling Mahayuti Government. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were present on this occasion.
BJP tops the tally with 16 cabinet ministers and 3 ministers of state, while Shiv Sena got 9 cabinet berths and 2 ministers of state. The Nationalist Congress Party got 8 cabinet ministers and 1 minister of state.
The Maharashtra cabinet also includes four women ministers. These are BJP’s Pankaja Munde, Madhuri Misal, Meghna Bordikar and the Nationalist Congress Party’s Aditi Tatkare.
The prominent ministers who took oath today include BJP’s state president, Chandrashekhar Bawankule. BJPs Shivendra Singh Bhosale, Nitesh Rane, Shivsena’s Sanjay Rathod, and NCP’s Narahari Jhirwal and Hasan Mushrif. The weeklong winter session of the Maharashtra assembly will begin tomorrow at Nagpur.