NEW DELHI: In a significant development, Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde held a late-night meeting with Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday, a day before the completion of one year of the Shinde-Fadnavis government.
The meeting assumes importance as it takes place ahead of the anticipated and eagerly awaited cabinet expansion at the central and state levels.
Reports suggest that Maharashtra deputy chief minister and BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis was also present in the national capital. Shinde’s party, Shiv Sena, is expected to secure 2 or 3 ministerial berths in Prime Minister Modi’s Cabinet.
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With an eye on the 2024 elections, a potential Cabinet reshuffle is on the horizon, with several ministers likely to be dropped and assigned organizational roles.
On June 30 last year, Shinde rebelled against his boss and Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray along with many party MLAs led to the downfall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi government and paved the way for the current Shinde-Fadnavis government.
The state Cabinet expansion, which has been pending for a year, was discussed during the meeting with Union home minister Shah. The current Shinde-Fadnavis government has 20 ministers, with the last expansion taking place in August when nine ministers from each party were inducted.
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The number of ministers can potentially increase to 43, indicating that several appointments are still pending even after nearly a year. The current government functions with 20 Cabinet-rank members, with both Fadnavis and Shinde holding multiple crucial portfolios.
Fadnavis oversees Home, Finance and Planning, Law and Judiciary, Water Resources, Housing, Energy, and Protocol, while Shinde holds the Urban Development Department, General Administration Department, Public Works Department (public sector undertakings), Information and Public Relations, Transport, Marketing, Social Justice, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation, Soil and Water Conservation, Environment and Climate Change, and Minority Development.
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