The speculation about the likely cabinet reshuffle in Maharashtra strengthened on Saturday, with senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader and minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule stressing that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis' discretion is supreme among allies.
The speculation about the potential swapping of portfolios of some controversial ministers or sacking them gained momentum in light of Fadnavis' recent meeting with Union ministers in Delhi.
Queried about the reshuffle buzz, Bawankule said, "Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Nationalist Congress Party chief Ajit Pawar and Shiv Sena head Eknath Shinde can decide for their parties, which is their right."
"Respective parties will make their decisions. However, the final decision rests with Fadnavis as he is the chief minister of the state," he added.
He demanded an apology from the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, after the latter admitted that he could not protect the interests of Other Backward Classes (OBC) in the past as much as he should have done.
Gandhi had also acknowledged his 'mistake' of not getting a caste census conducted earlier.
"Rahul Gandhi should apologise to the nation and the OBC community, as it is obvious that the Congress used OBCs as a vote bank. The Congress had done injustice to OBCs," Bawankule said.
He said the caste enumeration decision taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi will pave the way for a huge revolution in the country.
The former Maharashtra BJP president took a dig at Saamana amid reports that senior leader Sudhir Mungantiwar will replace Rahul Narwekar as the speaker of the Maharashtra assembly.
"In order to boost the declining readership of (Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray mouthpiece) Saamana and give more publicity to its owner (Uddhav Thackeray), they are writing misleading news reports," he said.
Meanwhile, Bawankule said if some ineligible men had fraudulently availed of the financial benefits under the Mukhyamantri Mazi Ladki Bahin Yojana, the money should be recovered from them and cases registered.
He was answering a query on around 14,000 men availing of the monthly financial aid under the scheme reserved exclusively for women from the low-income groups who meet the eligibility criteria.
"The chief minister and the government have already clarified. The government will not recover money received by some sisters fraudulently. But if men are involved, I feel the money should be recovered from them and cases registered," the minister added.
Political circles are abuzz with speculation concerning the future of some ministers, mainly of the Shiv Sena headed by Eknath Shinde, amid controversies.
Amid a growing chorus for the resignation of NCP leader and state agriculture minister Manikrao Kokate, Deputy CM Ajit Pawar has assured an appropriate decision after discussing with his colleague.
Kokate is in the eye of a political storm after videos purportedly showing him playing a card game on his mobile phone in the state legislature went viral. The minister had denied allegations against him and threatened to sue the leaders responsible for 'defaming' him.
Kokate had triggered controversies in the past with his statements regarding the farming community.
*****
Amid speculation of Munde's return as minister, Jarange slams Fadnavis, Ajit Pawar
Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange on Saturday slammed Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy CM Ajit Pawar over speculation that Nationalist Congress Party leader Dhananjay Munde might make a comeback to the state cabinet.
Speaking to reporters in Pune on Friday, Pawar had said Munde will be given an 'opportunity' if he is absolved in the 'inquiry' against him.
While Pawar did not elaborate, speculation is rife the inquiry he was speaking about was a reference to the Beed sarpanch murder case following which the NCP MLA had to quit the Fadnavis government.
Santosh Deshmukh, sarpanch of Massajog in Beed, was abducted, tortured and murdered on December 9 last year for opposing an extortion bid on a firm helming a windmill project there. The case triggered national outrage.
The arrest of Walmik Karad, a close aide of Dhananjay Munde, in the case led to strident demands from the opposition and even some leaders of the ruling Mahayuti that the Parli MLA be dropped from the state cabinet. Munde quit on March 4 this year.
The state leadership is glorifying violence and rewarding such individuals with ministerial positions, Jarange told reporters in Antarwali Sarthi village in Jalna.
Jarange also referred to the murder of Mahadev Munde while speaking on the issue.
Mahadev Munde, a resident of Parli, was abducted on October 19, 2023 and his body was found three days later. His wife consumed poison at the office of the Beed superintendent of police last week to protest the delay in arresting the culprits.
"Instead of consoling the family of Mahadev Munde, the government is rewarding Dhananjay Munde. There will be no law and order left in Maharashtra if the state government functions in this manner," Jarange said.
© 2025