"We have responsibility towards public; decisions will be taken in dynamic manner": Maha Dy CM Eknath Shinde

Deputy CM Shinde congratulated Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the Cabinet expansion and mentioned that the alliance had convened in Nagpur over the past few days to finalise the allocation of portfolios.

Speaking at the swearing-in ceremony for the new Cabinet ministers, Deputy CM Shinde remarked, "Over the last few days, there has been much discussion about who would get which departments. This convention was held in Nagpur, and I congratulate Devendra ji... The team is new, but the opposition remains the same. We have worked as a united team. Devendra ji and Ajit Dada are with me. As I said before, I will bring 200 MLAs; Ajit Pawar joining us is a bonus. We are accountable to the public and will make decisions in a dynamic manner."

Taking aim at the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), Shinde stated that the public had rejected them, leaving the opposition without even a Leader of Opposition (LoP).

"The situation is such that the opposition failed to secure the position of LoP. The public has demonstrated their support for those who work for them. We had extended an invitation to the opposition, and I thought they might attend the oath-taking ceremony. However, the public has boycotted these individuals. They underestimated us for 2.5 years," Shinde said.

Further criticising the opposition, the Deputy Chief Minister noted their contradictory stance on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). He highlighted that the opposition praised EVMs when they won elections in Karnataka and Jharkhand but questioned them after their losses.

"A letter has been submitted regarding EVMs. Everyone has witnessed the work we have done. We held 86 Cabinet meetings and made 850 decisions. Moving forward, we will continue working as a team. When they won in Karnataka and Jharkhand, EVMs were acceptable to them. But when they lost, they blamed the Election Commission. We will cherish the mandate entrusted to us," Shinde added.

At a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur, leaders of the Mahayuti alliance were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers in the Maharashtra government.

The Mahayuti alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the Shiv Sena.

Among those sworn in were BJP's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, along with Ashish Shelar, Ganesh Naik, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Pankaja Munde, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Chandrakant Patil, and Nitesh Rane.

Shiv Sena leaders Shambhuraj Desai, Dadaji Dagadu Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Uday Samant, Gulabrao Patil, and Sanjay Shirsat, representing Deputy CM Eknath Shinde's faction, also took the oath as ministers.

NCP leaders Aditi Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde, and Hasan Mushrif were inducted into the Cabinet as well.

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to the newly appointed ministers.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, along with Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, attended the swearing-in ceremony.

This Cabinet expansion follows a delay of over two weeks after CM Fadnavis and his deputies were sworn in on December 5. The Mahayuti alliance had faced criticism from the opposition for postponing the announcement of the Cabinet despite holding a commanding majority.

In the Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a landslide victory, securing 235 seats. The BJP emerged as the largest party with 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena and NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively. (ANI)