"Fruits of 40 years of 'tapasya'": Sanjay Shirsat after taking oath as Cabinet Minister in Maharashtra government

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], December 15 (ANI): After being sworn in as a Cabinet Minister in the Maharashtra government, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat on Sunday expressed his excitement, describing it as the culmination of 40 years of hard work. He pledged to work diligently for the people of Maharashtra.

Shirsat remarked, "It is a very good feeling. It seems that today we have reaped the fruits of 40 years of 'tapasya'... We now have an opportunity to work in all the departments of Maharashtra, and we will make the most of it."

He also praised the performance-based tenure formula introduced by Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. "Eknath Shinde stated that the ministerial post will be given for only 2.5 years. If performance is good, the tenure can be extended even earlier. This is an excellent formula. Those who perform will progress..." he said.

Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant, who also took the oath as a Cabinet Minister, pledged to work under the leadership of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to further the initiatives of the Mahayuti government.

Samant stated, "We will work for the people of Maharashtra under the leadership of Eknath Shinde. We will advance the initiatives of the Mahayuti government under Devendra Fadnavis. We function as a family and will ensure no issues arise."

Earlier in the day, leaders of the Mahayuti alliance were sworn in as Cabinet Ministers in the Maharashtra government during a ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur. The Mahayuti alliance consists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena.

BJP's state unit chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule, along with Ashish Shelar, Ganesh Naik, Mangal Prabhat Lodha, Pankaja Munde, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Chandrakant Patil, and Nitesh Rane, were among those sworn in. Shiv Sena leaders Shambhuraj Desai, Dadaji Dagadu Bhuse, Sanjay Rathod, Uday Samant, Gulabrao Patil, and Sanjay Shirsat, representing Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's faction, also joined the Cabinet. NCP leaders Aditi Tatkare, Dhananjay Munde, and Hasan Mushrif were inducted as well.

Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan administered the oath to the new ministers. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar attended the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhavan.

The Cabinet expansion follows over two weeks after CM Fadnavis and his two deputies were sworn in on December 5. The Mahayuti alliance had faced criticism from the opposition for delaying the Cabinet announcement despite holding a significant majority.

In the Maharashtra Assembly Election 2024, the BJP-led Mahayuti alliance secured a landslide victory, winning 235 seats. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 132 seats, while Shiv Sena and NCP secured 57 and 41 seats, respectively. (ANI)