More than a month after Eknath Shinde and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis were sworn in as Maharashtra Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister respectively, the expansion of the state Cabinet would take place on Tuesday, PTI reported. A senior state BJP leader told PTI that the Cabinet expansion would take place at Raj Bhavan at 12 pm.
"The cabinet expansion will take place tomorrow in Mumbai. I cannot divulge any details about it and who will be in the cabinet," the BJP leader said.
In the past few weeks, Fadnavis and Shinde visited Delhi multiple times to consult with the BJP leadership on cabinet expansion.
A close aide of Shinde told PTI that a dozen ministers would take oath at Tuesday’s ceremony. The next round of expansion would take place later.
"The monsoon session of the state legislature has to be held at the earliest, so we decided to induct 12 legislators in the ministry expansion. Some of those taking the oath on Tuesday would be from the Legislative Council," the aide said.
READ | Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Fadnavis In Delhi To Meet Top BJP Leaders
Ajit Pawar, Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Assembly, said Shinde had promised a ministerial berth to every MLA who joined him.
"Now Shinde is not able to fulfil his promise, hence the delay in cabinet expansion. The chief minister should also reveal what led to the delay," PTI quoted Pawar as saying.
Ever since Shinde and Fadnavis were sworn in on June 30 as CM and deputy CM, they have been functioning as a two-member Cabinet since then. The move has drawn severe criticism from the Opposition parties, with NCP saying that the government cannot expand the Cabinet until they receive a "green signal" from Delhi.
Amid the criticism, Shinde last week said the state government's functioning had not been affected in any way due to the delay in the expansion of the council of ministers.
So far, the chief minister and deputy chief minister have taken at least 13 Cabinet decisions, such as bringing back the Jalyukta Shivar scheme, which was known to be Fadnavis' flagship when he was CM, and moving the contentious Metro car shed for the Colaba-Bandra-Seepz Metro back to Aarey Colony, reversing the MVA's decision.
The new government twas formed after some Shiv Sena MLAs, under the leadership of Shinde, rebelled against the Uddhav Thackeray-led MVA government. The rebellion caused the MVA government -- which consisted of the Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Congress -- to fall.