Sanjay Raut miffed over brother's exclusion from Maharashtra Cabinet ahead of expansion

Amid the cabinet expansion of the new Uddhav Thackeray government in Maharashtra on Monday, sources said that Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut is unhappy. Sources reported that Raut, who is considered an architect of Sena's political moves after the election result to stitch an alliance with the NCP and Congress, is unhappy because his brother Sunil Raut has not been included in the cabinet. Sunil is a Shiv Sena MLA from Vikhroli. 

Maharashtra Cabinet expansion: Aaditya to take oath in father Uddhav Thackeray's govt

Ajit Pawar and Aaditya Thackeray in the new cabinet

Earlier, sources confirmed that Shiv Sena Yuva chief and Worli MLA Aditya Thackeray will be sworn as a Cabinet Minister in his father's government, after a month of its formation. Aaditya is the first member of the Thackeray family to contest elections and is set to be one of the youngest Cabinet Ministers. While NCP sources confirmed that the party will get the Home Ministry, it is speculated that Ajit Pawar is most likely to be Deputy Chief Minister and will also head the Home Ministry. While, Shiv Sena's 13 ministers (10 - cabinet, 3 - MoS) will take oath, NCP's 13 ministers (10 - cabinet, 3 - MoS) and Congress' 10 ministers (8 - cabinet, 2 - MoS) will take oath, as  sources

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Maharashtra cabinet expansion

The Winter session of the Maharashtra Assembly was held from December 16 to December 21 in Nagpur. The Thackeray-led government's cabinet expansion which was initially to be held on December 24, will be held on Monday. The Opposition has slammed the delay, saying not many issues were debated and resolved in the Nagpur Assembly.

Uddhav Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister of Maharashtra on November 28 along with six ministers — two each from alliance partners the Shiv Sena, NCP, and Congress. This was preceded by 4-day CM stint by Fadnavis, which fell after Ajit Pawar rescinded his support after the Supreme Court ordered an open ballot floor test in the Maharashtra Assembly immediately. Both Fadnavis and Pawar resigned.

Mahayuti fallout

Almost a month after elections, the president's rule was imposed after no party could prove a majority. The BJP-Sena which fell out squabbling over a 50-50 power-sharing and shared CM post bagged 161 seats (BJP- 105, Shiv Sena-56). Meanwhile, the Maha Aghadi won 98 seats (NCP -54, Congress) and chose to ally with Shiv Sena, forming the Maha Vikas Aghadi.

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