MUMBAI: After the Nationalist Congress Party's senior leader Ajit Pawar joined Eknath Shinde-led government and was sworn in as the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, two other leaders of NCP and Devendra Fadnavis are likely to be inducted in the prime minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet during the cabinet reshuffle.
NCP’s Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel who orchestrated the entire operation of Ajit Pawar and his group joining BJP and making them ministers, it is time for Mr Patel also to become the minister in the union cabinet.
Apart from Praful Patel, NCP Lok Sabha MP Sunil Tatkare is also likely to be inducted into the central cabinet. Tatkare’s daughter Aditi Tatkare took the oath of the minister last Sunday in the BJP-led government in Maharashtra.
Sources close to Ajit Pawar said the deal was done with the BJP that NCP will get 18 ministers that includes nine cabinets while remaining the ministers for the state and two cabinet ministers in the union cabinet. Ajit Pawar earlier confirmed that other NCP MLAs will be also inducted as ministers in future.
“BJP has decided to drop the non-performing ministers in centre and state as well and accommodate the new faces that include from NCP factions as well. BJP wants to be a more accommodative party giving more space for the regional party leaders. It will help them to project as an inclusive party and that will add the other parties' votes and elect as many as Lok Sabha members and MLAs as well. BJp wants to project all together different BJP ahead of the Lok sabha elections,” said a senior NCP leader on the condition of anonymity.
He said that if Ajit Pawar is able to get between 30 to 40 MLAs, then he may be elevated as chief minister of Maharashtra as well. “Then, Devendra Fadnavis who is DCM in Maharashtra may be elevated as a cabinet minister in the centre while in the state, there will be two deputy chief ministers – one from Shinde factions while another from the BJP. BJP is putting a lot of hopes on Ajit Pawar and his skilful leadership to repeat the 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha’s scores,” he added.