Pressure mounts for cabinet expansion: CM Shinde, Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar to head to Delhi

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Devendra Fadnavis, is slated to travel to Delhi soon for crucial discussions with the central leadership of the BJP. The agenda includes addressing various issues, prominently the long-pending cabinet expansion, as preparations gear up for the 2024 Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, according to insider sources.
The proposed meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah aims to advance discussions on the pending cabinet expansion, appointments to corporations, and coordination among the three alliance partners, as revealed by a high-ranking source within the state BJP. While currently engaged in Assembly elections across five states, the leaders are expected to turn their attention to Maharashtra following the declaration of results on December 3, noted a senior BJP official.
The Maharashtra cabinet expansion, halted since July 2023, remains a key focus. Presently, there are 29 ministers, including the CM and the two deputy CMs, with a permissible quota for state council ministers set at 43, leaving 14 vacancies in the cabinet.
Both the Shiv Sena faction led by Shinde and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) faction led by Ajit Pawar consider the expansion essential to accommodate the aspirations of their MLAs who joined them during the split from their respective parties to align with the BJP. There is mounting pressure to execute the cabinet expansion before the Winter Session commences in Nagpur on December 7.
The three-party ruling coalition is grappling with coordination issues at the grassroots level, exacerbated by reservation politics leading to turmoil. The assertiveness between Marathas and OBCs is influencing political dynamics within the government, according to a political manager in the BJP. The ruling coalition currently commands the support of 196 MLAs out of the total 288 MLAs in the state Legislative Assembly.