Maha cabinet expansion most likely on July 14

The state cabinet's expansion and portfolio distribution are most likely to take place on July 14 according to the Shiv Sena, which is now in power in Maharashtra. However, the party's opposing faction expressed doubt that the MLAs from the Eknath Shinde-led camp will be included in the new ministry.

On July 2, senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar and eight other legislators of his party took oath as ministers in the Maharashtra government. The surprise move led to a split in the Sharad Pawar-led outfit.

The induction of the MLAs of the NCP, the latest entrant in the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) coalition, has triggered a tussle over the allocation of portfolios.

Ruling Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday said the expansion of the cabinet and the allocation of portfolios are 99 per cent likely to happen on Friday, even as his party colleague and minister Uday Samant maintained that it would be done at an appropriate time.

Shiv Sena (UBT) took a dig at the ruling party, saying that it is doubtful that MLAs of the Shinde-led party would be accommodated in the cabinet and that the suits stitched by aspirants to attend the oath-taking ceremony may not see the light of the day.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, who belongs to the Sena (UBT), said it will be difficult for the BJP to satisfy the people they have pulled together.

It is not impossible, but it is very difficult to meet the expectations of MLAs of the three parties, he said. There is an imbalance of number of MLAs who want to become a minister and actual posts available. There is a lot of discontent among the BJP workers, Danve said. In such a case, the cabinet expansion is a challenging task, he added.