BackSix NCP ministers sworn-in after reshuffle
Three with cabinet rank and the others as ministers of state sworn in replacing six others who were dropped
PremiumMumbai: Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) on Tuesday carried out a major reshuffle in the Maharashtra cabinet, with an eye on the 2014 Lok Sabha election as well as state assembly polls.
Those inducted as cabinet ministers were Shashikant Shinde, member of legislative assembly (MLA) from the Koregaon constituency in Satara district; NCP state unit president Madhukar Pichad; and Dilip Sopal, an independent MLA from Barshi in Solapur district and an associate member of NCP.
Shinde replaced Ramraje Nimbalkar, water resources minister (Krisha valley), also from Satara. Pichad belongs to the tribal community and is likely to be given charge of the tribal welfare ministry, replacing Babanrao Pachpute who was dropped. Sopal replaced his fellow district MLA and water supply minister, Laxmanrao Dhoble.
The ministers of state who were dropped are Gulabrao Deokar, who faces corruption charges; Bhaskar Jadhav, who courted controversy recently over the lavish weddings of his son and daughter when Maharashtra was facing one of its worst droughts in 40 years; and Prakash Solanke.
Last week, Pawar sought the resignations of all party ministers in the state. On Monday night, deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar handed over the list of ministers to be dropped/inducted to chief minister Prithviraj Chavan. Chavan’s Congress party and the NCP are allies in the Maharashtra government.
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