Shiv Sena, BJP ministers who lost plum portfolios to Ajit Pawar-led NCP

What happened: Chavan, who hails from Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s home district Thane, is known to be one of the BJP leaders who counters Shinde. The BJP and Shinde had crossed paths recently after local BJP leaders spoke against fielding Shrikant Shinde, son of the CM, from Kalyan Lok Sabha seat. The announcement was made in the presence of Chavan. A similar incident took place in Thane where a demand was raised to seek Thane LS seat for the BJP, instead of Shinde Sena.

As the matter escalated, it resulted in a war of words between both parties where it was claimed, citing a survey, that Shinde was more popular than BJP’s Devendra Fadnavis. Ultimately, Fadnavis had to intervene and declare that the Kalyan LS seat will not be fought by the BJP.

Chavan’s tenure in Food and Civil Supplies department was also marked with allegations of hasty tendering of ‘Anandacha Shidha’ scheme announced for ration card holders where several food items were given at concessional rates.

Atul Save
Constituency: Aurangabad East
Department: Housing, OBC welfare
Lost out on: Cooperation

What happened : Save, an unknown face in the cooperative sector, was handed over charge of the department as he had no baggage of cooperatives on him. However, many believe that it turned out to be his weakness.

Save was also targeted by the NCP when Ajit Pawar was the Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly. His department had taken action against sugar mills linked to Pawar based on complaints by BJP leaders. His lacklustre performance in politically one of the most important departments proved costly as he lost on the portfolio to NCP’s Dilip Walse-Patil.

Girish Mahajan

Constituency: Jamner
Department: Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Tourism
Lost out on: Medical Education, Sports and Youth Welfare

What happened: Mahajan is known to be one of the closest aides of Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis. As the Shinde group refused to part with important departments, it was the BJP which had to make sacrifices, especially those close to Fadnavis.

NCP’s insistence on getting a department related to health resulted in Mahajan losing his favorite Medical Education department.

SANJAY RATHOD

Constituency: Digras, Yavatmaal
Department: Soil and Water Conservation
Lost out on: Food and Drug Administration

Controversy: Rathod, who is considered to be strongman from Digras in Yavatmal, was embroiled in a couple of controversies since 2019. During the MVA government in 2019, he was appointed as Minister of Forest, Disaster Management, Relief and Rehabilitation. However, he had to resign in 2021 after the controversial Pooja Chavan suicide case in which his name was embroiled.

Rathod was again inducted into the cabinet after the formation of the Shinde-Fadnavis government last year and was appointed as Minister of FDA and Soil and Water Conservation. During this tenure, the Maharashtra State Chemists and Druggists Association (MSCDA) had written a letter to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde alleging that there has been major corruption in the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) which was headed by Rathod and that Rathod’s staff demanded money.

The association had warned that the chemists and druggists will launch a protest and call for a strike if there was no inquiry into their complaints. Rathod, however, had refuted the allegations calling it to be a baseless.
Rathod was also Minister of State for Revenue during the BJP-Shiv Sena government between 2014-19 and also held positions of guardian minister for Yavatmal and Washim district.

ABDUL SATTAR ABDUL NABI

Constituency: Sillod, Aurangabad
Department: Minority Development
Lost out on: Agriculture

Controversy: Abdul Sattar, who had joined the Shiv Sena in 2019, was earlier associated with the Congress till 2019 and was minister in the Congress-NCP government in 2014 for a brief time. In the MVA government, he was Minister of State for Revenue, Rural Development, Ports Development and Khar and development.

Ahead of his induction into Shinde-Fadnavis-led cabinet, Sattar was in the news after names of his daughters appeard among TET scam beneficiaries, which had raised doubt whether he would be taking oath in the cabinet. Sattar was one of the MLAs from Aurangabad who had lobbied for the ministerial position after the Shinde-led government was formed and had also put up a show of strength in Mumbai with his supporters from Aurangabad. He is the only MLA from minority in the Shinde camp.

As agriculture minister in the Shinde-Fadnavis-led government, Sattar’s name was embroiled in several controversies. In November last year, he used abusive and objectionable words to describe NCP leader and MP Supriya Sule. Sattar’s comments led to statewide protests from NCP workers and leaders and widespread condemnation from across political parties.

Sattar had also faced flak from opposition after he asked Beed district Collector Radhabinod Sharma if he would drink alcohol during a tour of the district to inspect crop damage caused by the retreating monsoon. Earlier this week, the magistrate court in Sillod also ordered summary trial procedure against Sattar in a false affidavit case. As per the private complaint filed against Sattar, he had allegedly filed false affidavit s during the 2014 and 2019 Assembly polls.

MANGAL PRABHAT LODHA
Constituency: Malabar Hill, South Mumbai
Department: Skill Development, Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
Lost out on: Women and Child Development

Controversy: During his tenure as Minister of Women and Child Development Department, the government had set up the Intercaste/ Interfaith Marriage Family Coordination Committee via a government resolution, to gather information about couples in such marriages.

This resolution was amended on December 15, and intercaste was dropped from the purview of the committee. The decision drew criticism from the Opposition which pointed to the state government scheme of granting funds to couples who go for intercaste marriage and said that the move will create a divide in society and also create fear in the minds of people from one community.

During the state budget session in March, Lodha told the Assembly the state has more than one lakh cases of ‘love jihad’. The statement led to uproar with the Opposition slamming the minister for making what it termed an “unsubstantiated remark”.

The Women and Child Development ministry has been allotted to NCP’s Aditi Tatkare who is the only women face in the cabinet.