Maharashtra Cabinet expansion: Ajit Pawar likely to be sworn in as Deputy CM

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ajit Pawar is likely to be sworn in as the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra in the long-overdue expansion of the state cabinet scheduled for Monday, as per sources.

According to sources in NCP, a total of 14 ministers from their party and 12 from Congress will be sworn-in on the event scheduled for December 30.

The sources further said that 10 of their ministers will be appointed as Cabinet ministers in the Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government.

It is important to note that if Ajit Pawar had also been appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister in the short-lived BJP-NCP alliance government which held sway for just three days in the state.

Apart from Pawar, the other names which are being touted to sworn-in on Monday from the NCP include those of NCP leader Nawab Malik, Jitendra Awhad, along with Dhanjaya Munde, Anil Deshmukh, Dr Rajendra Shingne, Rajesh Tope, Hasan Mushrif, Balasheb Patil and Dilip Walse Patil among others.

NCP's first time MLA from Shrivardhan, Aditi Tatkare is also likely to be sworn in as Minister of State (MoS).

Earlier today, Maharashtra cabinet minister Balasaheb Thorat on Sunday said that Congress will get 12 berths in the cabinet expansion scheduled for tomorrow.

"Tomorrow is the oath-taking ceremony and we have to give the final list. We got 12 berths in which two will be state ministers and ten in Cabinet. Our list will be out soon with names," Thorat told ANI after meeting with Congress leadership in New Delhi.

On November 28, Uddhav Thackeray took oath as Chief Minister bringing an end to weeks of political instability in the state's politics after Shiv Sena, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Congress stitched a post-poll coalition as Maha Vikas Aghadi.

Six other ministers -- two each from NCP, Congress, and Shiv Sena took the oath of office.