Fadnavis and his wife are seen in the economy class of a scheduled flight as they travel to Nagpur yesterday.
IANS/Mumbai
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis yesterday allocated portfolios to his new cabinet colleague, an official statement said here.
Fadnavis retained the crucial portfolios of home and urban development as well as departments not allocated to any other minister.
Eknath Khadse, the former leader of opposition in the assembly, will handle revenue, minorities development and Wakf, agriculture, animal husbandry, dairy development and fisheries, and excise, while former state Bharatiya Janata Party president Sudhir Mungantiwar will be the new finance minister. He will also hold charge of planning and forests.
Vinod Tawde will look after school education and sports, higher and technical education, medical education, Marathi Bhasha, and culture, while Prakash Mehta has been assigned the crucial portfolios of industries and mining, and parliamentary affairs.
Chandrakant Patil will handle co-operation, marketing and textiles, and public works (including public undertakings).
Pankaja Munde, the only woman cabinet minister, has been allotted rural development and water conservation, and women and child development.
Vishnu Savara will look after tribal development, and social justice.
Of the two ministers of state, Dilip Kamble will look after tribal development and social justice and Vidya Thakur handle rural development and water conservation and women and child development.
A look at the portfolio allocation shows he is serious about his commitment to provide “maximum governance and minimum government,” according to analysts.
By limiting the number of ministers to 10, Fadnavis has also raised hopes in the Shiv Sena camp that there may still be scope for the former allies to work together in the new regime, where the BJP has usurped Sena’s role of the ‘Big Brother’.
Meanwhile, following criticism of a lavish swearing-in ceremony at Wankhede stadium, Fadnavis, adopting austerity measures, flew to Nagpur by a scheduled flight in economy class instead of using a government aircraft.
He was given a tumultuous reception by thousands of supporters at the Nagpur airport.