 "Three-time Shiv Sena MLA denied cabinet berth, resigned from party post")
Narendra Bhondekar, a three-time member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Bhandara-Pavani constituency and a member of Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction resigned as deputy leader of the party. According to a report by NDTV, Bhondekar resigned after he was excluded from the recent cabinet expansion despite being reportedly assured a ministerial berth.
Sources say that Bhondekar made unsuccessful attempts to meet key party figures like Eknath Shinde, Uday Samant, and Shrikant Shinde in the run-up to the cabinet berth allocations. Though he already resigned from the party position, he continues to be a member of the Legislative Assembly.
This points to growing dissatisfaction within Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena faction, particularly as the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a sweeping victory in Vidarbha, winning 47 out of 62 seats. Political analysts believe this could trigger internal discord and threaten party unity, potentially disrupting election preparations.
Maharashtra’s new cabinet
Uday Samant was sworn in as a minister in Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’s newly expanded cabinet on Sunday. This completes the process of cabinet expansion following the assembly election results declared more than three weeks ago.
A total of 39 MLAs took their oaths on Sunday in a ceremony at the Raj Bhavan in Nagpur. Of these, 19 come from BJP, 11 from Shiv Sena, and nine from Nationalist Congress Party (Ajit Pawar faction). Considering Fadnavis along with his deputies, a total of 42 MLAs are now included in the cabinet.
The list of Shiv Sena-appointed ministers includes Shambhuraj Desai, Dadaji Dagaduse Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Uday Samant, Gulabrao Patil, and Sanjay Shirsat.
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Disappointments over berth allocations
Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party of India (RPI) expressed disappointment with the distribution of ministerial positions, as his party did not find representation in the cabinet. He said he would take up this matter with Amit Shah and JP Nadda and held that Fadnavis had promised this ministry in his list.
Chaggan Bhujbal of the Nationalist Congress Party, who also couldn’t get a cabinet berth, was absent at the pre-oath ceremony meeting in Nagpur. Deepak Kesarkar, Primary Education Minister in Eknath Shinde’s cabinet, was also missing. Speaking to reporters, he justified that attendance at the pre-oath ceremony was limited to invitees and confirmed his presence at the next legislative session.
In the previous assembly elections, the Mahayuti alliance secured a decisive victory with 235 seats. The BJP emerged as the largest winner with 132 seats, followed by Shiv Sena with 57, NCP with 41, and others.