Maharashtra: Ajit Pawar becomes deputy CM, Aaditya Thackeray gets cabinet rank

A month after allying with BJP and becoming the deputy CM under Devendra Fadnavis for just 80 hours, NCP leader Ajit Pawar on Monday again took oath as the deputy CM, this time under the Maha Vikas Aghadi Aghadi government headed by Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

Uddhav Thackeray's son Aaditya Thackeray and former chief minister Ashok Chavan also took oath as Cabinet ministers. This is the first time in Maharashtra that a father-son duo has found a place the state’s Council of Ministers.

NCP leaders Nawab Malik, Dilip Walse Patil, Dhananjay Munde, and Congress’ Vijay Wadettiwar were also inducted into the Cabinet.

Last month, the NCP-Congress-Shiv Sena coalition was formed government in Maharashtra. A total of 36 ministers, including Cabinet Minister and Minister of State ranks, took oath today. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to the new ministers in the Maharashtra Legislature precinct. 

FULL LIST OF MINISTERS SWORN IN TODAY

Deputy Chief Minister

Ajit Pawar, NCP

Cabinet ministers

1. Ashok Chavan, Congress
2. Dilip Walse Patil, NCP
3. Dhananjay Munde, NCP
4. Vijay Waddetiwar, Congress
5. Anil Deshmukh, NCP
6. Hasan Mushrif, NCP
7. Varsha Gaikwad, Congress
8. Rajendra Shingane, NCP
9. Nawab Malik, NCP
10. Rajesh Tope, NCP
11. Sunil Kedar, Congress
12. Sanjay Rathod, Shiv Sena
13. Gulabrao Patil, Shiv Sena
14. Amit Deshmukh, Congress
15. Dada Bhuse, Shiv Sena
16. Jitendra Awhad, NCP
17. Sandippan Bhumre, Shiv Sena
18. Balasaheb Patil, NCP
19. Yashomati Thakur, Congress
20. Anil Parab, Shiv Sena
21. Uday Samant, Shiv Sena
22. KC Padvi, Congress
23. Shankar Rao Gadakh, Independent (Shiv Sena quota)
24. Aslam Shaikh, Congress

Ministers of State

1. Abdul Sattar, Shiv Sena
2. Satej Patil, Congress
3. Shambhuraj Desai, Shiv Sena
4. Bachchu Kadu, Independent (Shiv Sena quota)
5. Vishwajeet Kadam, Congress
6. Dattatray Bharne, NCP
7. Aditi Tatkare, NCP
8. Sanjay Bansode, NCP
9. Prajakt Tanpure, NCP
10. Rajendra Patil Yedravkar, Independent (Shiv Sena quota)

Notably, the three parties had framed a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) and a seat-sharing formula before coming together to form a government in the state. According to the initial seat-sharing formula, the Shiv Sena would get 15 ministers apart from the Chief Minister, NCP 14 and Congress 12.

On November 23, Ajit Pawar had allied with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister under then BJP Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. However, the two-man government could last just 80 hours as Pawar resigned. 

BJP and Shiv Sena fought the elections together and had a comfortable majority to form the government but the two parties didn't reach any consensus on the '50-50 formula' that led to the break-up of ties.