At present, there are 30 ministers in the Fadnavis government, of which 20 ministers are from the BJP and ten from Shiv Sena (Express Photo by: Deepak Joshi) At present, there are 30 ministers in the Fadnavis government, of which 20 ministers are from the BJP and ten from Shiv Sena (Express Photo by: Deepak Joshi)

A cabinet expansion likely before Winter Session, that starts on December 7 in Nagpur, has set the pitch for lobbying within the BJP with aspirants knocking at the doors of the state and central leadership for ministerial berths in the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra.

Of the 12 vacancies in cabinet, BJP ministers will not exceed 5, Sena 2 and smaller allies 2.

There is a possibility of keeping three berths from the BJP vacant for meeting political challenges. BJP and government sources disclosed that the chief minister is likely to decide the final list with the central leadership in a couple of days. The Centre and state believe greater emphasis should be given to a balance on social engineering, specially after the Bihar Assembly polls.

Probable candidates from Vidarbha region are Sanjay Kute or Chainsukh Sancheti. Senior elected member Jaiprakash Rawal is the frontrunner from Dhule. Some quarters are propping Devyani Pharande or Pushpatai Hire, arguing women should get greater representation. At present, there are only two women ministers, Pankaja Munde and Vidhya Thakur. In Marathwada, Sudhakar Bhalerao or Sambhajirao Nilengekar Patil could have an edge.

From Mumbai, the competition is among Raj Purohit, Mangalprabhat Lodha and Ashish Shelar for a ministerial post. There is still ambiguity on whether Mumbai, which has adequate representation, should be considered at all in the cabinet expansion.

State education minister Vinod Tawde, housing minister Prakash Mehta and junior minister for women and child development Vidya Thakur represent Mumbai region. The cabinet expansion is likely to turn into a tightrope walk for the chief minister. At present, there are 30 ministers in the Fadnavis government of whom 20 are from the BJP and 10 from the Shiv Sena.

In the coming expansion, there is scope to accommodate 12 more. The maximum strength, as per guidelines, cannot exceed 42. When Shiv Sena decided to join the BJP government, it was mutually agreed that power share would be two-third BJP and one-third Sena, which means out of 42 ministers, BJP will have 30 and Sena 12.

The Sena will have only two candidates in the next expansion taking its tally from 10 to 12. Sena insiders revealed that party president Uddhav Thackeray is facing a challenge as more candidates are seeking ministerial posts. Yet, the party decided to give representation from rural Maharashtra. The frontrunners from Sena include Gulabrao Patil and Arjun Khot. However, senior leader Neelam Gorhe’s name is being discussed as a woman candidate. At present, Sena does not have any woman minister.

The chief minister’s headache is not confined to accommodating BJP. It extends to smaller allies Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatna, Rashtriya Samaj Party, Republican Party of India and Shiv Sangram. Sources indicated that out of four smaller allies, only two, from Rashtriya Samaj Party and Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghata, will be considered. Shiv Sangram chief Vinayak Mete has been made chief of Shivaji Memorial Trust.

RPI chief Ramdas Athavale has been given a Rajya Sabha seat from BJP quota before the 2014 elections. If RPI insists, Fadnavis may consider a candidate in some state corporations (mahamandals). There are 54 state corporations, which still have to be divided between the BJP and Sena.

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