Shiv Sena joins Maharashtra government, 12 Sena leaders take oath as ministers

Mumbai: 12 Shiv Sena leaders took oath as ministers on Friday in the first cabinet expansion of the Devendra Fadnavis-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Maharashtra.

Girish Mahajan, Divakar Raute, Subhash Rajaram Desai, Ramdas Gangaram Kadam, Eknath Sambhaji Shinde and Dr. Deepak Ramchandra Sawant were among those who were sworn-in as Cabinet Ministers today.

Of the 20 ministers sworn in today, 10 are of cabinet rank, five each from the BJP and the Shiv Sena.

Shiv Sena leader Eknath Shinde had earlier tendered his resignation as the Leader of the Opposition, ahead of the oath taking ceremony.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier on Thursday confirmed that the BJP and the Shiv Sena had decided to re-forge their alliance in the state.

"We have decided to continue the BJP-Shiv Sena alliance and form the government in Maharashtra together. 12 ministers from the Shiv Sena will join the government, out of which five Cabinet Ministers and seven Ministers of State will join the alliance," Fadnavis told the media.

He said that the public support, which the BJP got in Maharashtra during the assembly elections proved to grassroot workers and leaders of both the parties that the BJP-Shiv Sena should together carry forward the government in the state.

Earlier this year, the BJP and the Shiv Sena snapped their 25-year alliance ahead of the Maharashtra Assembly polls over a seat-sharing disagreement. The declaration of the results saw the BJP emerge as the single largest party with 122 seats in the 288-member assembly, yet falling short of achieving absolute majority. The Shiv Sena had finished second with 63 seats.