Even after three weeks of intense and hectic negotiations and lobbying as well as the intervention of the BJP's top brass in Delhi, sources said on Saturday evening that the list of Maharashtra's cabinet ministers and ministers of state is yet to be finalised and will be given "final touches" only by Sunday morning.
As per the announced schedule, the winter session of the Maharashtra assembly is set to begin on Monday, December 16 in Nagpur, which is Maharashtra's winter capital. A last-minute shifting of the oath-taking event to Nagpur cannot be ruled out, sources said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated on Thursday that he held discussions about the cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda and party's National General Secretary BL Santhosh.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis left for his first Delhi visit on Wednesday after he was sworn in, to meet President Droupadi Murmu, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in what has been described as "a courtesy call", according to sources.
Following are the portfolios Chief Minister Atishi allocated to the new ministers in the Delhi government
According to officials here, SBSP president and cabinet minister Om Prakash Rajbhar has been given the responsibility of Panchayati Raj, Muslim Waqf and Haj and Minority Welfare Department.
Home, Excise, Personnel, Planning, General Administration, Policy Making, Information and Public Relations and Anti-Corruption Bureau are the eight departments Bhajan Lal Sharma kept with himself.
The five cabinet ministers who were sworn in by Governor La Ganeshan are Pradip Majumdar, Trinamool Congress MLA from Durgapur-East in West Burdwan district, Babul Supriyo from Ballygunge assembly constituency in Kolkata, Udayan Guha from Dinhata in Cooch Behar, Partha Bhowmik from Naihati in North 24 Parganas, and Snehasis Chakraborty from Jangipara in Hooghly district.
The decision was taken in public interest to ensure a smooth functioning of all departments and not hinder the decision-making process in view of the absence of the five cabinet ministers and four ministers of state, according to Thackeray.
The urban development portfolio, which was currently held by Mrs Bhattacharya, has been given back to mayor Firhad Hakim, who had held it for the previous two terms. Mr Hakim, who holds the transport department, has been appointed as the minister in-charge of the department of urban development and municipal affairs as well as the housing department.
