"Cabinet expansion will take place on December 14": Maharashtra Deputy CM Ajit Pawar

New Delhi [India], December 12 (ANI): Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on Thursday said that the cabinet expansion of the state government will take place on December 14.
"I went to wish him (NCP-SCP chief Sharad Pawar) on his birthday...Cabinet expansion in Maharashtra will take place on December 14," Pawar told reporters.
He further said that the Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP) was increased four times but the MSP was not increased and requested Union Home Minister Amit Shah to increase the MSP of Sugarcane.
After meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, NCP leader Praful Patel said that it was a "courtesy call."
"It was a courtesy call. After the results of the Maharashtra Assembly elections, we did not come to Delhi...The Cabinet expansion in Maharashtra will take place on December 14...We also had a discussion about sugarcane, cotton, soybean farmers," Patel said.
Amid speculation over Maharashtra cabinet formation, state Chief Minister Devendra Fadanvis said that the formula for cabinet expansion is already decided and soon the people will get to know.
"You people have run a lot of news about me and Ajit Pawar coming to Delhi that it is related to the cabinet expansion. I have seen those, but I would like to make one thing clear that I have come party-related meetings and Ajit Pawar has come for his work... so there is no need to speculate much on these things. In our party, decisions are taken by the parliamentary board and our senior leadership... As far as making ministers from the BJP quota is concerned, we will take a decision on it. Similarly, the NCP and Shiv Sena will decide the names of their ministers at their level. The formula for cabinet expansion is already decided. You will get to know about it soon," Fadnavis told reporters.
The Mahayuti alliance has come under fire from the opposition for not naming its cabinet despite having an overwhelming majority.
UBT Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi said, "The results of Maharashtra assembly elections were declared on 23rd November and it took them (Mahayuti) 10-11 days to decide the name of Maharashtra CM and Deputy CMs. There is no information regarding the state cabinet ministers. Violence broke out in the Parbhani city and we don't know who is the home minister of the state as law and order is a state subject."
Earlier on December 5, Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra while Shiv Sena chief Eknath Shinde and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar took oath as Deputy Chief Ministers.
The Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024 witnessed a decisive victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Mahayuti alliance, securing a landslide win with 235 seats. The results marked a significant milestone for the BJP, which emerged as the single-largest party with 132 seats. The Shiv Sena and Nationalist Congress Party also made notable gains, with 57 and 41 seats, respectively. (ANI)