Mumbai: Chief Minister Eknath Shinde departed for his native Satara district on Thursday. There, he will take a two-day breather from the frenetic political manoeuvring around the extension of his cabinet and the distribution of portfolios. He has instructed his faction to consider portfolio-related conversations in the context of the Maha Yuti as a whole and report back to him when he gets back. Because they share power with the BJP and will therefore need to share critical portfolios as well, Shinde has spoken with MLAs that they cannot seek all important positions. He has given them two days to consider it, and when he returns from his two-day vacation, he will formally declare the portfolios, according to a person with knowledge of the situation, who spoke with First India.
The portfolio announcement was delayed due to disagreements over three portfolios that the Shinde camp wants, this person said. Abdul Sattar, who is likely to get Minority Affairs, also wants Rural Development, while Sanjay Rathod wants Social Welfare. The Shinde camp also wants the Agriculture ministry. Dada Bhuse from the Shinde camp was the Agriculture minister in the previous MVA dispensation. Pressure has been building on the ShindeFadnavis duo after massive delays in the cabinet expansion. Nearly 40 days after they were sworn in as CM and Dy CM, they inducted 18 more ministers in the cabinet, but are yet to formally announce portfolios. Those familiar with the issue said 22 more cabinet ministers are likely to be included in Phase 2 of the expansion, either during the Ganesh Chaurthi festival from August 31 to Sept 09 or after the Pitru Paksh, a 15-day period considered inauspicious. More significantly, Shinde faction may get a share of 12 or more cabinet berths in Phase 2 expansion.
In the meantime, Shinde landed in his home town of Dare in the Satara district and was expected to pay obeisance at the Padmavati Devi temple in Tapola hamlet and accept the felicitation that the residents had prepared for him. He is scheduled to spend the night in Dare and perform puja at the Janani Devi temple, the local deity, on Friday. His sudden decision to travel to his hometown hamlet alarmed the district authorities in the area. For the past two days, there has been a lot of rain in the area, and because of the weather, some electrical poles have collapsed, cutting off network connectivity and energy in over 100 communities. Officials from BSNL and Mahavitaran, the state power utility, were putting in extra effort to reestablish connectivity.
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