Mahayuti Portfolio Announcement Highlights: Eknath Shinde bags heavyweight depts, retains most Cabinet portfolios from earlier govt

Acknowledging the high number of ministers and the restrictions in assigning portfolios to each of them, Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar said on Sunday that some members are unhappy.

A day after portfolios were allocated by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Pawar said the work on pending projects would begin soon.

The NCP chief led a road show in his constituency, Baramati, and attended felicitation programmes. "As the number of ministers is high, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had to give each minister a portfolio. Obviously, some are happy and some are not," Pawar said at an event.

He pointed out that the state Cabinet includes only six ministers of state, while the rest 36 are cabinet ministers.

Pawar, who retained the Finance Ministry, said he would take charge of the office on Monday.

The Deputy CM further said the work on multiple projects had to be stopped temporarily after the model code of conduct kicked in for the November 20 Maharashtra assembly elections.

(PTI)

Activist Yogendra Yadav on Sunday raised concerns over what he called an “immense” challenge to democracy globally and said it is being “murdered” by its own tools.

He also targeted the media saying it no longer amplifies the voice of the common man. Delivering a lecture on ‘Challenges and the Future of Indian Democracy' in Maharashtra's Latur, Yadav said democracy could be saved through “street protests”, “public movements” and “cultural battles”.

He said the progressive intellectual wealth of nationalism, self-respect, and cultural traditions had been willingly handed over to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “Those who did not shed a drop of blood for the country's freedom are today parading as custodians of nationalism,” he added.

Yadav, who was the national convenor of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's foot march ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra', said that “we may have lost the ‘Save Democracy' match, but are confident of winning the series”.

(PTI)

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will visit Maharashtra’s Parbhani city on Monday to meet the families of two persons who died following violence there earlier this month.

The state BJP, however, has dubbed Gandhi’s visit as a “drama”.

Parbhani witnessed violence after a glass-enclosed replica of the Constitution near Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar’s statue outside the railway station in the city, located in Marathwada region, was vandalised on the evening of December 10.

State BJP chief and revenue minister Chandrashekar Bawankule termed Gandhi’s visit as a “drama”. Read More

In a major relief for lakhs of government job aspirants, the state government Friday decided to relax the maximum age criterion across categories by one year for candidates appearing for recruitment examinations conducted by the Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC). The government, though, added this was only a one-time measure considering the delays in recruitment processes owing to confusion over the Maratha reservation.

The MPSC published advertisements for various government posts earlier this year. However, it was later instructed by the state to issue revised advertisements considering the new roster as per the revised reservation criterion. This process of revision led to considerable delay in the 2024 recruitment process. The delay resulted in the disqualification of many candidates on account of crossing the maximum age limit.

Thereafter, several aspirants had written to the state government demanding relaxation in the age criterion. Read More

After days of suspense over who gets Maharashtra’s home department, many senior IPS officers believe that with Devendra Fadnavis as chief minister and home minister, stability in police postings will be restored.

The state has a history of multiple power centres in police postings, leading to delays in transfers. During the Mahayuti government, there were flashpoints regarding transfers carried out by then chief minister Eknath Shinde, as Fadnavis was not happy about them.

Political parties have often disagreed on IPS transfers. Delays were common during the Congress-NCP government from 2009 to 2014, when NCP leader R R Patil was home minister and Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan was chief minister. Fadnavis, during his previous tenure as chief minister, also held the home portfolio and had the final say on IPS transfers. Read More

A three-year-old boy was run over by a car near Ambedkar College in Wadala on Saturday evening. Police arrested the car driver and took him for medical tests.

According to police, the boy, identified as Aayush Kinawade, was with his parents on the pavement and was playing when the Creta driver ran over him.

The locals overpowered the accused driver, identified as Bhushan Ghole, 19, and handed him over to the police. The RAK Marg police registered an FIR and arrested Ghole.

Senior inspector S Randive of RAK Marg police station said they have taken the accused for medical tests to find out if he was under the influence of alcohol. An officer said the boy’s father Laxman Ramesh is a mandap decorator.

Randive said, “Prima facie, the driver does not appear to be under the influence of alcohol.”

The police checked whether the driver has a valid driving license and suspect that it was while taking a U-turn or reversing the car that the boy came under the four-wheeler.

Mahayuti Portfolio Announcement Live Updates: Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Rahul Gandhi visiting Parbhani to meet family of man who died in judicial custody says, "Rahul Gandhi does drama, he doesn't respect the constitution. Congress has gone against the Constitution hundreds of times. It is their politics of eyewash. CM Devendra Fadnavis is acting, action has been taken against the accused, police officials. He has also assured for further action. Rahul Gandhi is visiting for votes, people of Maharashtra have rejected them. They would not find their feet here with such politics."

Mumbai’s struggle with pollution persisted on Sunday, with the Air Quality Index (AQI) reaching 153, categorised as ‘moderate.’ Over the past few weeks, the city has consistently experienced ‘moderate’ air quality. However, conditions deteriorated sharply earlier this week when the AQI climbed to 225, edging dangerously close to the ‘poor’ category. The Bombay High Court on Friday said that a pollution-free environment is a constitutional right and pulled up the Maharashtra government for failure to tackle the issue of air pollution. 

The ruling Mahayuti in Maharashtra sprang a few surprises Sunday, when Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ new Cabinet took shape with 39 ministers taking oath of office.

While the Cabinet has some new entrants, 12 ministers from the previous Mahayuti government – including senior leaders like the NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal and the BJP’s Sudhir Mungantiwar and Ravindra Chavan – failed to make the cut.

Here is a look at the careers of former ministers who failed to find a place in the new Cabinet – and possible reasons why they were dropped.

Read more

More than two weeks after he took the oath of office, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has allocated portfolios to his council of ministers, retaining the crucial Home department with him.

Fadnavis will also handle Energy, Law and Judiciary, General Administration Department and Information and Publicity departments, an official statement said here on Saturday.

Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde was allocated Urban Development, Housing and Public Works Department (public enterprises).

Ajit Pawar, another deputy CM, got Finance and Planning, State Excise.

Notably, Fadnavis and Ajit Pawar had handled the Home and Finance, respectively, in the previous Eknath Shinde-led government.

Leaders of the Shinde-led Shiv Sena had said they expected their party would get the Home department.

But BJP sources indicated that the saffron party, which won 132 out of 288 seats in the November 20 assembly polls against the Shiv Sena's 57 and Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party's 41 seats, would not cede the important portfolio.

The portfolios were allocated on Saturday after the week-long winter session of the state Legislature ended here earlier in the day.

As many as 39 ministers were sworn in on December 15, before the start of the session, while Fadnavis and his two deputies took the oath of office on December 5.

The Mahayuti alliance of the BJP, NCP and Shiv Sena swept the assembly elections, winning 230 of 288 seats.

Among the key portfolios allocated to BJP ministers are -- Chandrashekhar Bawankule (Revenue), Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil (Water Resources- Krishna and Godavari Valley Development corporation), Chandrakant Patil (Higher and Technical Education, Parliamentary affairs), Girish Mahajan (Water Resources- Vidarbha , Tapi, Konkan Development Corporation and Disaster Management).

Among the Shiv Sena ministers, Gulabrao Patil has got Water Supply and Sanitation, Dadaji Bhuse - School Education, Sanjay Rathod - Soil and Water Conservation and Uday Samant - Industries and Marathi language.

From the NCP, Hasan Mushrif has got Medical Education, Dhananjay Munde - Food and Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection, Dattatrey Bharne - Sports ,Youth Welfare and Minority Development and Aukaf, Aditi Tatkare - Women and Child Development and Manikrao Kokate - Agriculture. - PTI

Sanjay Pramila: Soil & Water Conservation

Mangal Prabhat: Skill Development, Employment, Entrepreneurship & Innovation

Uday Samant: Industries, Marathi Language

Jaykumar Rawal: Marketing, Protocol

Pankaja Munde: Environment & Climate Change, Animal Husbandry

Atul Save: OBC Welfare, Dairy Development & Renewable Energy

Ashok Uike: Tribal Development

Shambhuraj Desai: Tourism, Mining, Ex- Service men Welfare

Radhakrushna Patil: Water Resources (Godavari & Krishna Valley Development Corporation)

Hasan Mushrif : Medical Education

Chandrakant Patil : Higher & Technical Education and Parliamentary Affairs

Girish Mahajan : Water Resources (Vidharbha, Tapi, Konkan Development Corporation), Disaster Management

Ganesh Naik: Forests

Gulabrao Patil: Water Supply & Sanitation

Dadaji Bhuse: School Education

The Mahayuti government announced the cabinet portfolios for its ministers later on Saturday, after multiple negotiations took place between its top leaders.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis retained the Home Ministry, Ministry of Energy (Excluding Renewable Energy) and charge of Law & Judiciary, General Administration Dept and Information & Publicity.

Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena bagged the portfolio for Urban Development, Housing and Public Works (Public Enterprises).

NCP leader and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar was given the ministry of Finance & Planning along with State Excise.

Revenue has been given to Chandrashekhar Bawankule, while Water Supply and Sanitation went to Shiv Sena's Gulabrao Patil.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday asserted that the state's Gadchiroli district will be Naxal-free in the next three years and Gadchiroli town will be the ‘steel city' of India.

Replying to the debate on the opposition-sponsored last week motion in the legislative assembly here, Fadnavis listed several infrastructure projects across the state and farmer-centric initiatives.

He said the northern part of the Gadchiroli district, bordering Telangana and Chhattisgarh, has been rid of Naxals and is on the path of development.

Naxals have either been killed or surrendered, he said. About 1,500 youth from the district, which is in the state's Vidarbha region, have joined the police force of which 150 are from families of Naxals, the CM said.--PTI

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said portfolio allocation of his ministry would take place either later in the day, or on Sunday.

He was speaking at a press conference here at the end of the one-week-long winter session of the Maharashtra legislature.

"Portfolio distribution can take place by tonight or tomorrow morning," Fadnavis said.

Earlier, minister Bharat Gogawale had said the allocation of portfolios of the Mahayuti government was expected during the day.

Fadnavis and his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were sworn in on December 5, and 39 ministers were inducted ahead of the Winter Session on December 15.

However, portfolio allocation in the Mahayuti government is yet to take place.

The Mahayuti, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party, secured a landslide victory in the November 20 assembly polls by winning 230 out of 288 seats. PTI

Opposition parties alleged on Saturday that the winter session of the Maharashtra legislature was held only for formality as ministers couldn't resolve issues of farmers and others in the absence of portfolios.

Addressing a press conference on the sixth and concluding day of the session in Nagpur, the leader of the opposition in the legislative council, Ambadas Danve, said the government only highlighted old schemes and promises in the legislature.

"Though the Mahayuti government was formed 15 days back and the cabinet was also expanded, portfolios are yet to be allocated. This session saw ministers sitting in the legislature without ministries. This session was just a formality," Danve added.

He said the government failed to reassure farmers, workers, and industries.

Referring to violence in Parbhani city over the desecration of a replica of the Constitution, the suspicious death of an accused in judicial custody, the murder of a sarpanch in Beed, and the attack on a Marathi family in Kalyan, Danve said the government has failed to maintain law and order.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday claimed that outfits described by a past Congress government as "frontal organisations" of the Maoists took part in Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo march.

Speaking at a press conference here along with his deputy Eknath Shinde at the end of the one-week-long winter session of the state legislature, he also said his government would find out illegal Bangladeshi immigrants living in Mumbai and deport them.

As to the portfolio allocation of his new cabinet, he said it could happen later in the evening or on Sunday.

Fadnavis reiterated his allegation, made during the session, that urban Naxal outfits, acting as frontal organisations of the Maoists, participated in Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra.--PTI

Altogether, 172 cadets of the Border Security Force (BSF) took part in the passing-out parade on Saturday at its Subsidiary Training Centre near Maharashtra's Latur after completing their 44-week training, officials said.

The parade was held at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Parade Ground in Chakur. BSF Inspector General Vineet Kumar was present on the occasion.

Addressing the cadets, Kumar said, “These brave soldiers will be deployed to safeguard the vast borders of India-Pakistan and India-Bangladesh. They are fully prepared to face challenging situations along the nation's borders.” The top BSF official expressed gratitude to the families of cadets, saying they have dedicated their courageous sons to the service of the nation through the Border Security Force.

The cadets – Maharashtra, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Punjab – had started their rigorous training on February 5, the officials said.--PTI

The Maharashtra legislative assembly was prorogued on Saturday after the end of the winter session.

The budget session of the Maharashtra legislature will commence in Mumbai on March 3.

The prorogation order issued by Maharashtra governor C P Radhakrishnan was read out by Speaker Rahul Narwekar.

The six-day winter session witnessed uproar over Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on B R Ambedkar, violence in Parbhani city in central Maharashtra over the desecration of a replica of the Constitution, and the murder of a sarpanch in Beed.

The first session of the 15th assembly, held after elections, saw six sittings at an average attendance of 72.90 per cent, said Narwekar.

The total duration of the assembly proceedings was 46.26 hours with a daily sitting average of 7.44 hours. Proceedings of only 10 minutes were wasted, he said.

The speaker said 13 out of 15 reintroduced bills were passed in the assembly, a bill was sent to the joint committee and another is pending.--PTI

The CAG in its audit report has flagged out, a shortage of manpower at every level of healthcare institutions under the Maharashtra Health Department and over overburdening of infrastructure.

The Comptroller and Auditor General noted that providing adequate and quality healthcare services to a large population requires a robust healthcare infrastructure and services.

This performance audit report for 2023-2024 was tabled in the legislative assembly on Saturday.

The shortage of doctors, nurses and paramedical staff was 22 per cent, 35 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively in primary and secondary healthcare under the state Health Department. The shortage is 42 per cent in the cadre of the specialist doctors.--PTI

A professor was sentenced to three years rigorous imprisonment for sexually harassing MBBS trainees in Rajiv Gandhi Medical College in Kalwa in Thane.

In 2014, when these incidents took place, Dr Saileshwar Natarajan (63) was head of the facility's surgery department.

A case was registered against him at Kalwa police station after several female students wrote to the police commissioner claiming Natarajan was touching them inappropriately on the pretext of demonstrating diagnostic procedures. Students had also held protests at the college during that time.

Magistrate Mohini Nanavare on Thursday sentenced him to three years in jail and also fined him Rs 50,000, public prosecutor Leena Pednekar said. PTI

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi will be visiting Parbhani in Maharashtra on December 23 to meet the family of Somnath Suryawanshi, who died in police custody after the violence in Parbhani over the desecration of statue of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

The deceased Somnath Suryavanshi, a labourer who was pursuing law, was picked up as part of the 50 persons arrested by the Parbhani police after an incident of violence following alleged vandalising of a replica of the Indian Constitution outside the Parbhani railway station.Read More

The Maharashtra industrial department will prepare norms and a system for inspecting industrial reactors, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis told the legislative council on Saturday.

Fadnavis was responding to the leader of the opposition Ambadas Danve's demand for drafting a policy for reactors on the line of boilers to prevent blasts and other accidents involving industrial workers.

Danve mentioned such accidents in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Mumbai, Nashik, and other industrial areas, raising concerns over the safety of workers employed in small units that use reactors.

He demanded rules and policies for the regulation of reactors on lines of boilers.--PTI

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Saturday hinted that his party might go solo in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) election without exiting the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Talking to reporters, Raut said party workers were insisting the organisation go solo in the local body polls, as there were more aspirants than for the Lok Sabha or state assembly polls.

"Talks are on between Uddhav Thackeray and other party leaders (about whether to go solo) for the BMC polls. Workers want the party to contest the polls solo," he said.

The undivided Shiv Sena controlled the cash-rich BMC for 25 consecutive years — from 1997 to 2022.

The term of the previous elected representatives of the BMC ended in early March 2022, and fresh polls are due for nearly three years now.

Raut said the party's power in Mumbai is undisputed.

"If had we got more seats to contest in Mumbai (during the assembly polls), it would have won them," he said, claiming that it was necessary to win Mumbai or else the city would be separated from Maharashtra.

The Shiv Sena contested 24 seats in Mumbai and won 10, while the Congress fielded candidates for 10 seats and bagged four, and the NCP (SP) contested two seats unsuccessfully.

"Even when the (undivided) Shiv Sena was (in an alliance) with the BJP, we contested the BMC and other civic body polls independently. We are trying to find ways to do it. The MVA will exist in the Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Nashik civic bodies," he said.

Last week, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had said the Shiv Sena will contest the BMC polls, likely to be held next year, as part of the ruling Mahayuti.

“The BMC polls will be contested as Mahayuti (alliance) in all 227 civic wards,” said Shinde, who heads the Shiv Sena.

The BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP are part of the Mahayuti alliance. - PTI

After days of rescue operation by the Indian Navy, the body of the seven-year-old who was missing after a naval speedboat crashed into a ferry off the coast of Mumbai was found on Saturday, the police said.

Naval boats found the body of Johan Mohammad Nisar Ahmed Pathan, taking the toll in the December 18 tragedy to 15.

Meanwhile, the Navy has launched a probe into the crash in the city’s harbour area in which of the 113 persons on board both the vessels, 15 died and 98, including two injured, were rescued.

The tragedy struck when the speeding Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with passenger ferry ‘Neel Kamal’ off near Mumbai coast. The ferry with more than 100 passengers was on its way from the Gateway of India to the Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction which has a collection of ancient caves.

A naval helicopter and boats of the Navy and Coast Guard were deployed to look for the missing passengers as part of the SAR operation, the official said.

There were six persons on board the Navy craft, of which two survived, an official told the news agency PTI.

According to the documents issued by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), the boat had permission to carry 84 passengers and 6 crew members, but it was overloaded, a police official said.

Police interrogated four persons in connection with suspected recce outside Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut's bungalow here and later released them after verifying that they were employees of a telecom network services company, an official said on Saturday.

The men were employees of Insta ICT Solution, a telecom network services company, and were testing the network in the area on Saturday, the official said.

He said four men were interrogated and later released after the police verified their roles and designation with the company.

On Saturday, two men on a motorcycle were seen outside the Sena (UBT) leader's bungalow 'Maitri' in the Bhandup area around 9.30 am.

Finding it suspicious, some people waiting outside the bungalow alerted Raut's younger brother, MLA Sunil Raut.

Two men came on a two-wheeler, stopped outside the bungalow for some time and left the place, police had said.

A team from Kanjurmarg police station soon reached the spot and launched a probe. - PTI

The search operation launched by naval boats to locate a seven-year-old boy missing after a Navy craft rammed into a ferry off the Mumbai coast three days ago continued on Saturday, an official said.

The SAR (search and rescue) operation will continue at least till Saturday evening, the official said.

With the recovery of the body of a 43-year-old man on Thursday evening, the death toll in the December 18 tragedy rose to 14.

The Navy has launched a probe into one of the deadliest crashes in the city's harbour area.

A naval helicopter and boats of the Navy and Coast Guard were deployed to look for the missing passengers as part of the SAR operation, the official said.

Of the 113 persons on board both the vessels, 14 died and 98, including two injured, were rescued.

There were six persons on board the Navy craft, of which two survived, the official said.

The tragedy struck when the speeding Navy craft undergoing engine trials lost control and collided with passenger ferry 'Neel Kamal' off near Mumbai coast. The ferry with more than 100 passengers was on its way from the Gateway of India to the Elephanta Island, a popular tourist attraction which has a collection of ancient caves.

According to the documents issued by the Maharashtra Maritime Board (MMB), the boat had permission to carry 84 passengers and 6 crew members, but it was overloaded, a police official said.

The MMB, which is conducting an investigation into the accident, has cancelled the licence of the ferry as the vessel was overloaded, thus violating the Inland Vessel Act. The ferry had a capacity of 90 persons, an official said.

A case has been registered against the Navy craft driver at the Colaba police station, the official said.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections invoked in the FIR included those related to causing death by negligence, actions that endanger the personal safety or life of others, rash or negligent navigation of a vessel and acts of mischief that cause wrongful loss or damage to individuals or the public.

The accident-affected craft is in the custody of the Navy and police will demand it whenever needed for investigation, the official said. - PTI

Pollution-free environment is a constitutional right, the Bombay High Court said on Friday and pulled up the Maharashtra government for failure to tackle the issue of air pollution.

Innocent citizens cannot suffer endlessly due to the inaction of authorities, it said.

A division bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar said the right of citizens to a pollution-free environment was a concomitant of Article 21 of the Constitution.

"Innocent citizens cannot be victims of air pollution and helplessly suffer on such count, due to inaction of the authorities, in taking appropriate, timely and continuous measures," the court said.

The bench had in 2023 taken suo motu (on its own) cognisance of the issue of poor air quality index in the city and state.

On Friday, the court said it was "quite pained" to learn that hardly any effective steps are being taken in the present season.

The bench said the state machinery gets activated and takes action only when the court passes orders.

"There needs to be an inherent will, desire and resolve to curb environmental pollution, and effective and drastic steps in that regard being required to be taken, so that people are not adversely affected on health and other counts, more particularly when Mumbai, being a city of international repute and the commercial capital of the country," the HC said.

"No doubt that development/construction activities and other commercial activities need to go on, however, it cannot be that such activities are undertaken in an uncontrolled manner generating pollution and to the peril and health hazard of lakhs of inhabitants of the city," it added.

The court said urgent attention is required on vehicular pollution particularly along Mumbai's arterial roads such as the Western Express Highway and the Eastern Express Highway, where ongoing road and metro construction works have caused severe traffic congestion.

"Traffic management on such roads is inadequate, resulting in severe conditions directly responsible for vehicular pollution, which seriously affects not only nearby residents, but also the environment in its entirety," the bench remarked.

The court directed the Traffic Department to curb congestion and improve traffic flow throughout the day to reduce vehicular emissions.

Nodal officers are to be appointed to monitor pollution levels on key roads, while the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) must deploy machinery to measure pollution and report violations promptly.

The high court has kept the matter for hearing on January 9, 2025. - PTI

Good Morning!

Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, along with other MLAs, met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today morning as the Cabinet portfolios will likely be announced today.The cabinet portfolio distribution likely today.

Stay tuned with us for the latest updates.