Maharashtra cabinet reshuffle today, 13 ministers may be added, eight axed

MUMBAI: CM Devendra Fadnavis will finally reshuffle his cabinet on Sunday, a day before the state legislature’s monsoon session begins and four months before the assembly elections are to be held. BJP chief Amit Shah approved the rejig proposal after the CM met him in New Delhi on Saturday.
If a senior cabinet member is to be believed, it has been proposed to induct 13 new cabinet ministers and drop eight.Among those likely to be dropped are three cabinet ministers—Prakash Mehta (housing), Vishnu Savra (tribal development) and Rajkumar Badole (social justice)—and two ministers of state—Raje Ambarish Atram (tribal development) and Dilip Kamble (social justice). All five are from the BJP.
The Lokayukta had recently passed strictures against Mehta in the Tardeo M P Mill Compound slum redevelopment case, where he is alleged to have taken decisions benefiting a developer.
Among the new entrants in the cabinet will be veteran Congress leader and former leader of opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, who rebelled against the Congress after his son Sujay was denied a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections, and NCP legislator Jaidutta Kshirsagar, who joined the Shiv Sena a month ago. Vikhe Patil has quit as Congress MLA but is still to join the BJP.
“New faces have been decided after deliberations with the BJP high command. Defectors have been given top priority,” the cabinet member said.