Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday expressed disappointment after his Republican Party of India (A) failed to secure a ministerial birth in the Mahayuti cabinet expansion in Maharashtra.
“Republican Party of India (A) performed well in the Vidhan Sabha elections. We held meetings with Devendra Fadnavis, and he promised to allocate at least one ministry to us. However, in this expansion, there is no representation from RPI(A). We demand at least one ministry in the Cabinet,” Athawale told news agencyu ANI.
The Mahayuti government in Maharashtra headed by chief minister Fadnavis inducted 39 ministers, including 18 MLAs as first timers, from allies Shiv Sena and the NCP.
This takes the cabinet strength to 42, against the maximum limit of 43 ministers. The cabinet expansion was delayed owing to murmurs of a tussle between the BJP and Shiv Sena over distribution of the key departments.
Also read | Maharashtra cabinet: Full list of 39 Mahayuti ministers, including 18 new faces
Maharashtra governor CP Radhakrishnan administered oath of secrecy and integrity to the new ministers in a swearing-in ceremony held at Nagpur on Sunday.
Athawale claimed that he was not invited to the event. “The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers attended the event, but despite being a part of the Mahayuti alliance, I did not even receive an invitation,” he claimed.
Ajit Pawar, Fadnavis promise
Deputy chief minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar said MLAs left out of the cabinet will also get a chance to serve as ministers in the new government. “We will give an opportunity to others also for two-and-a-half years,” Pawar said before the event in Nagpur.
Mahayuti alliance leaders also indicated that the coalition could accommodate MLAs from the alliance as new ministers in the future. Fadnavis and Pawar said that “non-performers” can be replaced in two-and-a-half-months. The BJP leader also informed that the allies have agreed on conducting a “performance audit” of ministers during their tenure.
(With agency inputs)
