Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Merit to Decide Portfolios, Says Samant Amid Buzz of Discontent

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There has been speculation about restlessness in the Eknath Shinde camp after the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction became a part of the ruling alliance

Allotment of portfolios in Maharashtra cabinet expansion will be done according to the merit of the aspirants, the state’s Industries Minister and Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant said on Tuesday amid reports of discontent among party MLAs who had been waiting for cabinet berths since 2022 but may now have to give way to newly inducted NCP legislators.

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Samant added that portfolio allocation may take place as soon as a matter of hours. “The allotment will happen in some hours. It could be two hours, 20 hours, or 72 hours, we don’t know that,” he said.

“The three leaders — CM Eknath Shinde and two Deputy CMs Devendra Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar — know Maharashtra and its geography very well. They will allocate the portfolios according to the abilities of the MLAs. We have complete faith in Eknath Shinde’s leadership and we will accept the decision unanimously made by them,” he said.

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There has been speculation about restlessness in the Shinde camp after the Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction became a part of the ruling alliance. Shinde, however, has denied that his Shiv Sena MLAs were uncomfortable with the inclusion of Pawar and eight NCP legislators.

Commenting on Maharashtra Assembly Speaker issuing notice to both Shiv Sena faction MLAs over the disqualification plea filed by both factions against each other, Samant said: “We have the original documents and numbers, and we have done it all legally, which we will present to the Speaker along with examples. We are sure that he will not do injustice to anyone. Beyond that, it will be wrong on our part to comment, especially after the Election Commission has given its decision.”

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He also questioned the Shiv Sena-UBT for calling Shinde camp leaders ‘gaddars’. Samant also challenged the Uddhav Thackeray-led faction to use the same words for Ajit Pawar and his MLAs who joined the government recently. “I challenge them to name-call Ajit Pawar and other NCP leaders. Let us see what words they come up with.”