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Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Sunday expressed his disappointment that his party, the Republican Party of India (A), did not secure any ministry in the Maharashtra Cabinet expansion, demanding at least one portfolio.
Athawale claimed he was not invited to the event, which was attended by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar. "The swearing-in ceremony for the Maharashtra Cabinet expansion was held in Nagpur. The Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Ministers attended the event, but despite being a part of the Mahayuti alliance, I did not even receive an invitation," he said. "Republican Party of India (A) performed well in the Vidhan Sabha elections. We held meetings with Devendra Fadnavis, and he promised to allocate at least one ministry to us. However, in this expansion, there is no representation from RPI(A). We demand at least one ministry in the Cabinet," the Union Minister added. His remarks followed the swearing-in of Mahayuti alliance leaders as Cabinet Ministers in a ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur on Sunday. Among the BJP leaders sworn in were the party's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, Ashish Shelar, Ganesh Naik, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Pankaja Munde, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Chandrakant Patil, and Nitesh Rane. From Shiv Sena, Shambhuraj Desai, Dadaji Dagadu Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Uday Samant, Gulabrao Patil, and Sanjay Shirsat, representing Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction, were inducted as ministers. NCP leaders Aditi Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde, and Hasan Mushrif were also sworn in as part of the Cabinet. Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath of office to the newly appointed ministers. This Cabinet expansion comes more than two weeks after CM Fadnavis and his two deputies were sworn in on December 5. The Mahayuti alliance had been criticised by the opposition for delaying the announcement of its Cabinet despite holding a significant majority. In the Maharashtra Assembly Elections 2024, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance achieved a landslide victory, securing 235 seats. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats, while the Shiv Sena and the NCP won 57 and 41 seats, respectively. (ANI)
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