Cabinet expansion likely after Prez polls

Mumbai: The much-awaited expansion of the Maharashtra Cabinet led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde may take place after the July 18 presidential polls, the rebel camp of Shiv Sena MLAs told the press after a meeting.

“There is no difficulty in Cabinet expansion,” rebel Shiv Sena MLA faction’s spokesperson Deepak Kesarkar said, responding to a question on whether the Cabinet expansion was being delayed due to the ongoing legal battle between the rebel camp and the Sena faction led by former CM Uddhav Thackeray.

Currently, CM Shinde, who heads the rebel camp, and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis of the BJP—both of whom took oath on June 30—are the only members of the Cabinet.

Kesarkar said there is an important meeting on July 13 in New Delhi related to the election of the next President and a representative from the rebel group will be attending it.

On July 14, BJP-led NDA’s presidential candidate Droupadi Murmu will visit Mumbai to seek support.

“Preparations for the presidential polls will take place July 16-17 before voting on July 18.  Electors for the top constitutional post consist of Members of Parliament and MLAs. So, the MLAs will be busy in the presidential polls... so who will have the time to prepare for taking the oath? They are not in a hurry,” he said.

Last week, Shinde and Fadnavis visited New Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president JP Nadda. Deliberations on Cabinet expansion in Maharashtra were believed to have taken place with the BJP top brass during the visit.