Maharashra Cabinet Expansion: Ajit Pawar gets Finance, Dhananjay Munde gets Agriculture, Bhujbal gets Food

The cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation finally took place 12 days after the inclusion of nine Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLAs led by Ajit Pawar as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government. All nine NCP ministers have been assigned crucial portfolios.

The Maharashtra Cabinet was expanded on Friday with newly-inducted Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar getting Finance and Planning department. Cabinet Minister Chhagan Bhujbal has got Food and Civil Supplies.

The much-anticipated cabinet expansion and portfolio allocation, which came 12 days after nine Nationalist Congress Party MLAs led by Ajit Pawar were sworn in as ministers in the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government, saw all nine NCP ministers getting key portfolios.

Here are some other portfolio allocations:

* Dhananjay Munde: Agriculture 

* Dilip Walse Patil: Revenue, Animal Husbandry, Dairy Development

* Dharmarao Atram: Food & Drug Administration 

* Anil Patil: Sports, Relief and Rehabilitation, Disaster Management

* Aditi Tatkare: Women and Child Development

* Sanjay Bansode: Youth Affairs

* Hasan Mushrif: Medical Education 

The inclusion of NCP MLAs in the Shiv Sena-BJP coalition government has sparked a power struggle over portfolio allocations.

Reports suggest that tensions arose between the new political allies, with the NCP faction threatening to withdraw from the government if Ajit was not granted the finance ministry. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena MLAs led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde strongly opposed this demand.

Taking a jibe at the ruling party, the Shiv Sena (UBT) hinted that the MLAs from their party might not find a place in the cabinet, casting doubts on the fruition of their aspirations and attendance at the oath-taking ceremony.

The current Maharashtra Cabinet consists of nine ministers from the BJP, nine from Shiv Sena under Eknath Shinde's leadership, and nine from the NCP. Additionally, there is the chief minister and two deputy chief ministers. The cabinet can accommodate a maximum of 43 members.