Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar was named as the Guardian Minister of his home district Pune on Wednesday. Senior BJP leader and Cabinet Minister Chandrakant Patil was the Guardian Minister of Pune till now. So far, seven of the nine ministers of the NCP faction have been entrusted with the responsibilities of various districts after getting named as their Guardian Ministers, reported the news agency PTI.
The role of a Guardian Minister is to bring personal attention and support to their district. They will work with the district collector and other officials in order to address the local needs and ultimately promote growth.
According to a revised list of the Guardian Ministers for 12 districts issued by the Chief Minister's office, Chandrakant Patil has now been given the responsibility of Solapur and Amravati districts. NCP ministers Dilip Walse Patil, Hasan Mushrif and Dhananjay Munde will be the guardian ministers for Buldhana, Kolhapur, and Beed districts, reported PTI. Their Cabinet colleagues Sanjay Bandsode, Dhrmarao Baba Atram, and Anil Patil (also part of the Pawar camp) have been given the responsibility of Parbhani, Gondia, and Nandurbar districts, respectively.
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As for the BJP, senior ministers Sudhir Mungantiwar, Vijay Kumar Gavit, and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil will be taking over the Wardha, Bhandara and Akola districts, respectively, PTI reported. Prior to this, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was holding the charge of the three districts along with the Amravati district as well.
The naming of the Guardian Ministers for several districts was delayed due to the change in equations after Pawar joined the Shiv Sena-BJP government in July along with eight other MLAs, reported PTI.
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