Maharashtra: "Young Hindutva activist" Nitesh Rane promises development after taking oath as Cabinet Minister

Nagpur (Maharashtra) [India], December 15 (ANI): After being sworn in as a cabinet minister in the Maharashtra government, BJP leader Nitesh Rane on Sunday expressed gratitude for the opportunity to serve and pledged to work towards the state’s development.

Rane stated, "I thank everyone for entrusting the responsibility of a ministerial post to a young Hindutva activist like me... We will develop Maharashtra."

Meanwhile, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat, also sworn in as a cabinet minister, expressed his excitement, calling it the culmination of 40 years of hard work. He vowed to serve the people of Maharashtra with dedication.

Shirsat said, "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 across various departments in Maharashtra, and we will not waste this opportunity."

He praised Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s performance-based approach to ministerial tenure. "Eknath Shinde said the ministerial post will initially be for 2.5 years. If the performance is good, the tenure may be extended even earlier. This is an excellent formula. Those who work hard will progress," Shirsat added.

Shiv Sena leader Uday Samant, who also took the oath as a cabinet minister, affirmed his commitment to working under the leadership of  Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis to further the Mahayuti government’s initiatives.

Samant remarked, "We will work for the people of Maharashtra under Eknath Shinde's leadership. We will advance the initiatives of the Mahayuti government under Devendra Fadnavis. We function as a family and will ensure smooth governance."

Earlier in the day, leaders of the Mahayuti alliance were sworn in as cabinet ministers in a ceremony at Raj Bhavan in Nagpur. The Mahayuti alliance includes the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and Shiv Sena.

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

The oath was administered by Maharashtra Governor CP Radhakrishnan. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar attended the ceremony.

The Cabinet expansion follows more than two weeks after CM Fadnavis and his deputies were sworn in on December 5. The Mahayuti alliance had faced criticism from the opposition for delaying the Cabinet’s formation despite holding a substantial majority.

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