Why cabinet tightrope will test Mahayuti's balance

The BJP-led Mahayuti secured a runaway victory in the Maharashtra assembly election, but intense jockeying for ministerial berths and portfolios meant the expansion of council of ministers could take place only three weeks after the results were declared on November 23. Even chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and deputy chief ministers Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar were sworn in only 12 days later on December 5. Shinde, who is now relegated to being Fadnavis’ deputy, had insisted on important portfolios such as home and a higher number of ministerial berths for his Shiv Sena. While veterans such as Sudhir Mungantiwar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil have been dropped, the new faces are Shivendrasinhraje Bhosale, a descendant of the royal family of Satara, Akash Phundkar and Nitesh Rane from the BJP; Sanjay Shirsat, Prakash Abitkar, Pratap Sarnaik and Bharatseth Gogawale of the Shiv Sena; and Manikrao Kokate, Narhari Zhirwal and Indranil Naik from the NCP. However, another Mahayuti leader said that Shinde’s move to dig his heels in—first by showing his reluctance to take oath as deputy chief minister, and then by seeking better power-sharing terms—were optics meant to placate the unrest in his camp.