14 June,2024 06:02 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
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The Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat warned that if Maharashtra's cabinet expansion is delayed further, "consequences will be bad," reported PTI.
The Eknath Shinde government, which took over in June 2022 after the fall of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) dispensation, has seen just two cabinet expansions so far.
The first cabinet expansion took place in 2022, and the second in July 2023, when the Ajit Pawar-led NCP and eight other MLAs of the party had joined the Mahayuti government comprising of the BJP, CM Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the Ajit Pawar-led NCP.
Sanjay Shirsat is reportedly one of the contenders for a cabinet post.
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He said that the chief minister and deputy chief minister must state if there is going to be a cabinet expansion or not.
"Everyone wants to become a minister, but no one says it. You cannot keep it stretching for long. The time has come to make a concrete decision. If the cabinet expansion is further delayed, the consequences will be bad," Shirsat said, the PTI reported on Friday.
Meanwhile, with discussions over government formation, Shiv Sena is likely to consider party MPs other than Kalyan MP Dr. Shrikant Shinde, who is the son of Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, for inclusion in the union cabinet, reported news agency ANI.
Party sources told the ANI that Shiv Sena leadership has indicated that other party MPs will be considered for the role at the Centre, and this decision reflects Eknath Shinde's "pledge to prioritise meritocracy over family connections.".
At last year's Shiv Sena convention in Kolhapur, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had emphasized the principle of "Raja ka beta raja nahin banega, jo kam karega wo raja banega."
Six MPs from Maharashtra have been inducted into the Modi government 3.0
Six MPs from Maharashtra have been inducted into the Modi government 3.0, with the BJP securing four berths and allies Shiv Sena and RPI (A) getting one each. There were eight ministers from Maharashtra, belonging to the BJP and its allies, in the second term of the Modi government in 2019-24. The number came down to six on Sunday.
In the new Modi government 3.0, BJP MPs Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal were retained as cabinet ministers.
On the other hand, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray held a meeting with party functionaries on Monday in Mumbai as part of the strategy for the Maharashtra assembly elections to be held in the second half of the year.
The meeting was held to strategise for the upcoming Maharashtra Assembly elections. They also discussed the performance of the party in the recently held Lok Sabha elections 2024.
(with PTI and ANI inputs)
