Mumbai, December 30: Ajit Pawar is Maharashtra’s deputy chief minister again — only this time, we found out about his appointment well in advance…and his boss is from his own camp.
Pawar, 60, was sworn in today by Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, along with 35 other ministers.
Just weeks ago, the Nationalist Congress Party leader (NCP) left India stunned when he showed up at the Raj Bhavan with Devendra Fadnavis to return the BJP to power — this, at a time when Pawar’s NCP colleagues were in talks with the Shiv Sena and the Congress and poised to stake a claim themselves.
The coup didn’t succeed in the end the government fell apart before a floor test but Pawar seems to have landed on his feet.
Also in the expanded cabinet is Aaditya Thackeray, Uddhav’s son and the first member of the Thackeray clan to have contested and entered the state assembly.
NCP leader Nawab Malik and former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan are also cabinet ministers.
A total of 36 ministers are being sworn in today — a deputy chief minister, 25 cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state.
The Maharashtra cabinet expansion comes 32 days after Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister of a coalition comprising the Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress — known as the Maha Vikas Aghadi.
