On Sunday, December 15, the Maharashtra government witnessed a huge cabinet expansion as 39 MLAs inducted into the cabinet and notable names have come in from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Shiv Sena, and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). A swearing-in ceremony held at Nagpur would precede the Winter Session of the state legislature on December 16.
Key Highlights of the Cabinet Expansion
- Governor P.C. Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to over 33 Cabinet Ministers and 6 Ministers of State.
- BJP secured 19 berths and, thus, maintained dominance of the party in the cabinet.
- Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena won 11 seats, and NCP headed by Ajit Pawar could only win 9.
- The most important portfolio-the Home-deemed crucial that the BJP retained. And Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis continued with the file too.
Party-wise ministerial allocation.
Cabinet Ministers:
- BJP: 16
- Shiv Sena: 9
- NCP: 8
Minister of State
- BJP: 3
- Shiv Sena 2
- NCP: 1
Major positions and roles
Head of govt comprising Deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde along with Ajit Pawar. Senior/ ministerial positions:
• Chandrasekhar Bawankule (BJP) – A prominent new face in the cabinet.
• Ashish Shelar: BJP president Mumbai; has responsibilities.
•Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil (BJP): Remains an important member of the ministry.
• Hasan Mushrif (NCP): Consolidates the NCP base in the government.
Political Landscape Post-Elections
This is after the Mahayuti Alliance, led by the BJP, won the recently concluded Maharashtra Assembly Elections on November 20. The alliance won the election landslide with 230 out of 288 seats:
• BJP: 132 seats
•Shiv Sena: 57 seats
• NCP: 41 seats
Once again, the trends indicate that BJP-Shiv Sena-NCP alliance is the strongest political force. This will definitely help them to expand their cabinets.
Contentious power sharing solved
It seems expansion stalled on some very big portfolio related point but even major bones of contention included this Home portfolio going to the BJP side for arming Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. At one time, it looked likeBJP and Shiv Sena on a point of difference yet even they had eventually agreed with each other
Here is a complete party-wise Maharashtra Ministers List 2024:
| Minister name | Political party | Portfolio(s) |
| Devendra Fadnavis | BJP | Home |
| Ajit Pawar | NCP | |
| Eknath Shinde | Shiv Sena | |
| Chandrasekhar Bawankule | BJP | |
| Pankaja Munde | BJP | |
| Ashish Selar | BJP | |
| Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil | BJP | |
| Hasan Mushrif | NCP | |
| Chandrakant Patil | BJP | |
| Girish Mahajan | BJP | |
| Gulabrao Patil | Shiv Sena | |
| Ganesh Naik | BJP | |
| Dada Bhuse | Shiv Sena | |
| Sanjay Rathod | Shiv Sena | |
| Dhananjay Munde | NCP | |
| Mangal Prabhat Lodha | BJP | |
| Uday Samant | Shiv Sena | |
| Jaikumar Rawal | BJP | |
| Atul Save | BJP | |
| Ashok Uike | BJP | |
| Shambhuraj Desai | Shiv Sena | |
| Dattatreya Bharne | NCP | |
| Aditi Tatkare | NCP | |
| Shivendrasinh Bhosle | BJP | |
| Manikrao Kokate | NCP | |
| Jaikumar Gore | BJP | |
| Narhari Zirwal | NCP | |
| Sanjay Sawkare | BJP | |
| Sanjay Shirsat | Shiv Sena | |
| Pratap Sarnaik | Shiv Sena | |
| Bharat Gogavale | Shiv Sena | |
| Makarand Jadhav-Patil | NCP | |
| Nitesh Rane | BJP | |
| Akash Phundkar | BJP | |
| Babasaheb Patil | NCP | |
| Prakash Abitkar | Shiv Sena | |
| Madhuri Misal | BJP | |
| Ashish Jaiswal | Shiv Sena | |
| Pankaj Bhoyar | BJP | |
| Meghana Bordikar | BJP | |
| Indraneel Naik | NCP | |
| Yogesh Kadam | Shiv Sena |
Implications for Maharashtra
This would not only ratify the alliance’s might but also clear the ground for the following session of legislation. The Winter Session, continued from December 16 to 21 in Nagpur, would be carried forward with a few important issues of governance and reforms.
The induction of a diversified and balanced cabinet reflects the effort of the alliance in maintaining regional and political equilibrium. As the alliance commands a majority, it can drive the state’s governance quite effectively with BJP at the top.
It will be a new benchmark for the BJP-led Mahayuti government in Maharashtra in case 39 ministers are administered the oath. The new term when the government is going to start will be dominated by an electoral promise, but the state administration level stability will be there as well.
