Mumbai: Shiv Sena Chief Uddhav Thackeray today skipped the swearing-in ceremony of 11 new ministers to the Maharashtra Cabinet, in which the party was denied a berth. The expanded Cabinet includes 10 new faces.
Unlike in the Union Cabinet reshuffle, where the Shiv Sena was ignored, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis inducted two legislators from the bickering ally as Ministers of State.
The BJP, however, did not oblige the demand for a Cabinet berth from the Shiv Sena.
Shiv Sena legislators Arjun Khotkar, from Jalna in Marathwada region, and Gulabrao Patil, from Jalgaon in north Maharashtra, were inducted in the ministry as junior ministers.
Patil hails from former BJP minister Eknath Khadse's home turf Jalgaon, while Khotkar belongs to Jalna, the native district of state BJP president Raosaheb Danve.
The BJP legislators sworn-in as Cabinet ministers include former state party president Pandurang Fundkar, Dondaicha (Dhule) legislator Jaykumar Rawal, Sambhaji Patil Nilangekar from Nilanga and Solapur legislator Subhash Deshmukh.
BJP legislators Ravindra Chavan and Madan Yerawar were sworn in as Ministers of State.
The other five, including two of Shiv Sena, two of BJP and one of another alliance partner, were sworn-in as Ministers of State.
