Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Sulking Congress MLAs Meet Rahul, Sonia Gandhi In Delhi

According to reports, the Congress in the state has been facing internal differences with some senior leaders saying that they have been ignored in the cabinet expansion.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi along with All India Congress Committee general secretary and Maharashtra in-charge Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal poses for a group photo with party leaders who were appointed as ministers during the cabinet expansion of Maharashtra alliance government, in New Delhi. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Disappointments were observed by several Congress, including senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan, who were overlooked in the much-awaited first cabinet expansion of Maharashtra  government-led by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. Earlier in the day, Congress ministers met party interim president Sonia Gandhi and former chief Rahul Gandhi in the national capital to discuss the same. The ministers were accompanied by Mallikarjun Kharge, K.C. Venugopal and party secretary Ashish Dua. CM Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar and 34 other leaders from Shiv Sena, the NCP and the Congress took oath on Monday. According to reports, the Congress in the state has been facing internal differences with some senior leaders saying that they have been ignored in the cabinet expansion. From Mumbai Amin Patel, the two time MLA was expecting a cabinet berth, but was overlooked while as younger members -- Aslam Sheikh and Varsha Gaikwad -- were inducted in the cabinet.

Congress President Smt Sonia Gandhi meets with the @INCMaharashtra team & the new ministers. pic.twitter.com/MsnXghUgmY

— Congress (@INCIndia) December 31, 2019

The senior leaders have made their grievances known to the party leadership. The Congress, which came fourth in the Assembly polls is now planning to accommodate senior leaders in the party and many may be assigned organisational work, a source close to news agency IANS said. A leader, however, said that the purpose of the meeting was to discuss the party outreach program in the state and also to give a feedback on the alliance. The other ministers said that the meeting was a thanksgiving message to the party chief and take direction from the top leadership on how to move forward in the state. The Congress has got 12 berths in the cabinet and is eyeing some key portfolios. Apart from the speaker's post, the party has to appoint a new state president as Bala Saheb Thorat has been inducted in the cabinet. ALSO WATCH | Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Big Ministers Miffed With Shiv Sena Former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan, who was the frontrunner for the speaker's post is now being considered for the state chief post. Another former chief minister Ashok Chavan is also now part of the cabinet. It is also being said that some MLAs of Shiv Sena too were unhappy after not being inducted in the cabinet. Reacting to the report, Sena leader Sanjay Raut said that the Sena had a 'limited choice' in the three-party alliance government. Raut, who is the executive editor of Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana', told news agency PTI that they had to accommodate allies who supported the Thackeray-led party after the state Assembly poll results were announced on October 24. "We had to give a chance to new faces as well," the Rajya Sabha member said. ALSO WATCH | NCP Leader Ajit Pawar Returns As Maharashtra Deputy CM The Shiv Sena did not include its leaders like Ramdas Kadam, Diwakar Raote, Ravindra Waikar, Deepak Kesarkar and Tanaji Sawant in the new council of ministers during expansion on Monday. The chief minister expanded his Cabinet by inducting 36 ministers, including his son Aaditya Thackeray and some Gen-next leaders from political families, while NCP's Ajit Pawar made a comeback as deputy CM. On November 28, Balasaheb Thorat and Nitin Raut of Congress, Eknath Shinde and Subhash Desai of the Sena and Jayant Patil and Chhagan Bhujbal of the NCP had taken oath along with Thackeray. In the 288-member House, the Sena has 56 MLAs, NCP 54 and Congress 44. The opposition BJP has 105 MLAs. (With inputs from agencies)