Freshers get preference over seniors

Devendra Fadnavis. File pic

The much-awaited portfolio and allocation of the state cabinet are on the expected lines, but not without tweaks that are synonymous with CM Devendra Fadnavis. For example, two senior ministers have been accommodated in the water resources department, which has been split into regions. One of the ministers was in charge of the entire water resources department and helmed with rural development, and the other headed the revenue department in the previous governments. It is kind of back to past experiments in which the state had two water resources ministers, one for the Krishna Valley development and the other for the rest of Maharashtra. Looking at the composition, the freshers have been given portfolios that are considered very important.

Some see the ‘water resources division' as the senior ministers Girish Mahajan and Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil's demotion, but insiders say that their experience will be useful in the government's new big thrust area where the concentrated focus is needed to implement river linking and the water grid project and to complete unfinished projects. The plan is to mitigate the drought situation in water-deficient Marathwada and other parts of Maharashtra. Fadnavis, himself, led water resources in the Shinde government. A decade ago, the department was at the centre of a big controversy when the BJP was in the Opposition.

Bouquet to petals

There was a time when Fadnavis had ministers in charge of the bouquet of departments that were similar in nature (such as school, higher, technical and medical education). A very senior minister had about 10 portfolios in the first Fadnavis regime. That phase is over with a problem of plenty in 2024.

There are 42 ministers including the CM and two DyCMs - from three parties. Only one vacancy is left. As he had hinted time and again, Fadnavis has kept the Home he has captained for over seven years since 2014. He has also retained the Energy portfolio that is crucial for meeting the state's increasing power consumption. DyCM Shinde wanted Home, but he has retained Urban Development and Public Works (MSRDC) and also got Housing in a bargain. These actually form a powerful bouquet of infra portfolios. Housing was with the BJP in the previous regime. DyCM Ajit Pawar has managed to have Finance and Planning again, and in addition, he has got Shinde Sena's Excise, too. These portfolios are related to revenue (tax/duty) generation and managing expenditure/budget. Pawar is known for ruthlessly taxing liquor consumption. However, one good thing he did a few years ago was to reduce by half the duty on imported liquor.

Bawankule BJP's No. 2

Portfolios were allocated late Saturday evening after the winter session of the state legislature ended. Fadnavis had inducted 39 ministers on December 15, before the start of the session, 10 days after he and his deputies were sworn in. The re-inducted ministers expected the portfolios they had earlier, but not all, including Mahajan and Vikhe Patil, were lucky. Vikhe Patil's seniority was superseded by his party colleague Chandrashekhar Bawankule, who now heads Revenue. After leading the state party unit to a massive victory, Bawankule's graph has been on the rise. He is fourth in (protocol) seniority in the Team Fadnavis and second in the BJP after the CM. Revenue in charge makes him even more powerful under mentor Fadnavis. There is no change for Chandrakant Patil and Mangal Prabhat Lodha. Ganesh Naik has succeeded Sudhir Mungantiwar as the forest minister. First-timer Jaykumar Gore has been tasked with a heavyweight Rural Development, the department Mahajan and Pankaja Munde held earlier for the BJP. Munde will be leading Environment and Climate Change. Nomadic tribe representative Ashok Uike has been given Tribal Development by the BJP. He sat in the same office for about six months in 2019. Mumbai's Ashish Shelar will be driving IT with special emphasis on the state's next big thing - mega green data centre projects in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Shelar's other job, important for the party, will be managing Cultural Affairs. Maratha royal Shivendrasinh Bhosale will be in charge of Public Works Development.

Shinde has given new entrants good portfolios. He dashed the hopes of those he has retained. Freshers Sanjay Shirsat (Social Justice), Pratap Sarnaik (Transport) and Prakash Abitkar (Public Health) will have to live up to the party boss's expectations. Bharat Gogawale, who spent two years asking for a cabinet berth, will have to be content without a plum posting. Uday Samant will continue in the Industry department and work closely with the CM.

Ajit Pawar has kept Medical Education with a veteran Hasan Mushrif. The Women and Child Development is still with the young and promising Aditi Tatkare. New face Manikrao Kokate has emerged as a new power centre in the Ajit camp.

He has been empowered with all important Agriculture portfolio that Dhananjay Munde steered till recently. Munde, who faced turbulence in the winter session, finds himself in the Food and Civil Supplies Department. In a significant move, Pawar has taken away Minority Affairs and Aukaf from Mushrif and given it to Dattatray Bharne. A non-Muslim will be handling these portfolios. Cooperation, the portfolio dealing with sugar, milk and textile cooperatives, will be with Babasaheb Patil, also a fresher.

Six ministers of state (MoS) have responsibility of about five-six portfolios each. MoS are not entitled to attend the weekly cabinet meetings unless told so. Their primary job is to assist their senior ministers. Apart from answering questions in the legislature, MoS are given tasks by their cabinet ministers as per the
allocation of business rules. But there had been instances of some cabinet ministers discarding the rules by denying their juniors official assignments. Then CM had to step in to placate angry juniors.

CM Fadnavis has two junior ministers to assist him in the Home Department. He picked his party colleague Pankaj Bhoyar (Rural), who will team up with Shinde's choice, Yogesh Kadam (Urban). Generally, the Home MoS are considered the most lustrous among the juniors.

The immediate past government didn't have junior ministers. In alliance governments, the MoS are given, as a practice, the portfolios that are not held by their party's ministers. This government is no different.

Dharmendra Jore is political editor, mid-day. He tweets @dharmendrajore

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