JOIN USUddhav Thackeray’s strength reduced to 15 MLAs and 4 ministers
The dent to Shiv Sena is deep, and with just 15 MLAs and four ministers now, the priority for Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena President Uddhav Thackeray is to save the 56-year-old party founded by his late father Balasaheb Thackeray.
Rebel group leader Eknath Shinde, the Thane strongman, has put the Maha Vikas Aghadi in trouble.
When the MVA was formed, the Shiv Sena had 10 Cabinet berths which included one independent and for Ministers of State - two from the party and two independent/others.
Of them, Sanjay Rathod, the Forest Minister had to resign in February 2021, in the wake of the mysterious death of social media star Pooja Chavan.
In the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections the Shiv Sena won 56 - but the strength in Assembly was reduced to 55 - as one MLA Ramesh Latke died last month.
The Shiv Sena has 14 members in Council, but the split in the Upper House is not yet known.
As of now, Thackeray holds the portfolios of General Administration, Law and Judiciary, Information and Public Relations and Information Technology.
The three ministers in his side are his son Aaditya, an MLA from Worli, who holds the portfolios of Environment, Tourism and Protocol; Subhash Desai, the Minister for Industries, Mining and Marathi Language; and Anil Parab, the Minister for Transport and Parliamentary Affairs.
Among the four, only Aaditya is an MLA, as Thackeray, Desai and Parab are MLCs. Besides, Desai’s tenure as MLC is ending next month.
The Cabinet ministers who walked away are Eknath Shinde, who holds the portfolios of Urban Development and Public Works (Public Undertakings), Gulabrao Patil (Water Supply and Sanitation), Uday Samant (Higher and Technical Education), Dada Bhuse (Agriculture), Sandipan Bhumre (Employment Guarantee, Horticulture).
Another Cabinet minister is Shankarrao Gadakh, the Minister for Soil and Water Conservation, of Krantikari Shetkari Paksha, who later joined the Shiv Sena.
The two MoS who left are Abdul Sattar (Revenue, Rural Development, Ports Development, Khar Land Development, Special Assistance) and Shambhuraj Desai (Home-Rural, Finance, Planning, State Excise, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Marketing).
Two two independent MoS from Shiv Sena quota are Rajendra Patil Yadravkar (Public Health and Family Welfare, Medical Education, Food and Drugs Administration, Textiles, Cultural Affairs) and Bacchu Kadu of Prahar Janshakti Party who holds several portfolios - Water Resources, Command Area Development, School Education, Woman and Child Development, Other Backward Classes, Bahujan Welfare, Socially and Educationally Backward Classes, Vimukta Jati, Nomadic Tribes, Special Backward Classes Welfare, Labour and Minority Welfare Development.