Over a month after coming to power in Maharashtra, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday expanded his Cabinet by inducting 36 ministers, including his son Aaditya and some Gen-next leaders from political families, while NCP's Ajit Pawar made a comeback as deputy CM.
Describing his council of ministers as the "best team" of experienced leaders who know the "pulse of people", the CM told reporters in the night that portfolios would be allocated in a "day or two".
Earlier in the day, Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered oath to 14 ministers from the NCP, 10 from the Congress and 12 from the Shiv Sena at Vidhan Bhavan (state legislature) premises in south Mumbai.
The expansion, which raised the strength of the state ministry to 43, came over a month after the Thackeray-led Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government came to power.
The 36 new ministers included 10 Cabinet and four ministers of state (MoS) of the NCP, eight Cabinet and four MoS of the Sena, and eight Cabinet and two MoS of the Congress.
The NCP now has 12 Cabinet ministers and four MoS, the Shiv Sena has 10 Cabinet ministers and four MoS while Congress has 10 Cabinet ministers and two MoS.
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Two members each of the Sena, NCP and the Congress had taken oath on November 28, alongside CM Thackeray.
One of the main takeaways from the expansion exercise was Aaditya Thackeray--the first-time MLA from the Thackeray clan--taking oath as Cabinet minister at the age of 29.
Expectedly, Ajit Pawar made a comeback as deputy chief minister, barely 37 days after he broke ranks with the NCP and joined hands with Devendra Fadnavis of BJP to form a government, which lasted for barely 80 hours.
Another senior leader to take oath as a Cabinet minister was former chief minister Ashok Chavan of Congress.
However, another senior Congressman and former CM Prithviraj Chavan did not find place in Thackeray's ministry. There is a speculation that he may lead the state Congress unit.
Apart from the opposition BJP, Sena MP Sanjay Raut also skipped the ministry expansion ceremony.
Raut's absence was attributed to his brother Sunil Raut, a Sena MLA, not getting a berth.
Explaining the reason for giving the event a miss, a BJP leader said, "This government has not fulfilled the expectations of Maharashtra's farmers. We don't feel like attending the ceremony".
Another BJP leader said, "When Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in at Shivaji Park last month, state BJP leaders, including Leader of Opposition in Assembly Devendra Fadnavis, were present. There is no need to attend every cabinet expansion ceremony."