In a tweet, the Prime Minister said, "Congratulations to all those who took oath as Ministers in the Maharashtra Government today. This team is a great blend of administrative experience and the passion to deliver good governance. My best wishes to them for serving the people of the state."
PM's congratulation has come after a total of 18 minister sworn in the cabinet earlier in the day. It took nearly 40 days for the newly elected Maharashtra government to expand its new cabinet. All the ministers took oath in the presence of Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis and Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at the Raj Bhavan.
Except one minister, who sworn in for the first time, remaining 17 were the former minister of the Maharashtra government. The expansion faced criticism from other parties for not appointing any of the female minister in the cabinet. Marking an equal representation in the cabinet, there are nine ministers from BJP and the rebel faction of Shiv Sena each.
Following is the list of 18 ministers who have become a part of the Maharashtra cabinet.
Girish Mahajan: Known for his close ties with Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Girish has been a Member of Legislative Assembly for six consecutive years. He is a BJP leader from Northern Maharashtra.
Chandrakant Patil: Chandrakant is the state president of BJP and has won the MLC election twice. He is currently serving his first term of MLA from west Maharashtra. He was also a Revenue and PWD Minister during 2014-19.
Sanjay Rathod: Serving as Shiv Sena MLA from Yavatmal, Sanjay also handled the Forest Minsitry in Uddhav Thackery's government. But he was forced to resign after BJP accused him for a woman's suicide.
Sudhir Mungantiwar: He has served in the Finance and Forest Ministry during 2014-19 tenure of Maharashtra government. He is a six-term BJP MLA from Chandrapur district.
- Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil: He has been the leader of opposition in State Assembly when he won the election from Congress ticket during 2014-19. But he marked another term by winning 2019 election after joining BJP.
- Ravindra Chavan: A three time MLA from Thane, Ravindra from BJP was the minister of state during 2019.
- Vijaykumar Gavit: Gavit is a BJP leader who belongs to Nandurbar district of north Maharashtra. Gavit has also won MLA seats several times from NCP tickets as well.
- Atul Save: Atu Salve is a second time BJP MLA from Marathawada.
- Mangal Prabhat Lodha: Mangal Lodha is a Mumbai unit president of BJP who has won the election for five times. He is also an influential builder of the state.
- Suresh Khade: He is a second time BJP MLA from Sangli, Maharashtra,
- Gulabrao Patil: Shiv Sena's Gulabraoo was a four term MLA from Jalgaon, Maharashtra. He also held key position in the Uddhav government.
- Uday Samant: Shiv Sena leader Uday is a four time MLA from Ratnagiri, Maharashtra.
- Sandipan Bhumre: The former cabinet minster has served as MLA for five times from Aurangabad. He was appointed Minister of Employment and Horticulture in Uddhav government.
- Dada Bhuse: A fourth time MLA, Shiv Sena's Dada Bhuse was also a minister in the MVA government.
- Shambhuraj Desai: Desai won legislative assembly elections from Satara for four times.
-Tanaji Sawant: This is Tanaji's first term as MLA. Shiv Sena's Tanaji won the seat from Osmanabad district.
- Abdul Sattar: After winning two MLA elections from Marathwadam Sattar with a Congress ticket, Abdul Sttar joined Shiv Sena and won again in 2019.
- Deepak Kesarkar: Shiv Sena's Deepak Kesarkar is serving his third term as MLA from Sindhudurg distict.
