Maharashtra Cabinet expansion to take place on Dec 30

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is scheduled to expand his Cabinet on December 30, more than a month after the alliance government was formed in the state.

Thackeray was sworn in as the chief minister at the iconic Shivaji Park in Dadar on November 28. A small Cabinet comprising six ministers -- two each from Congress, NCP, and Shiv Sena -- were also sworn in by Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.

The Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Congress joined hands to form the government in the state after Devendra Fadnavis resigned.

Earlier on December 24, state Minister Jayant Patil had said the Congress has not given names for induction in the Cabinet, indicating that the much-delayed Cabinet expansion could be delayed further.

He had added that Chief Minister Thackeray will chair a meeting of his Cabinet to discuss its expansion.

Speaking to media here, Patil, an NCP leader, said that the date for the Cabinet expansion will be decided by the Chief Minister.

"Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will chair the meeting of the Cabinet. The date for the expansion will be decided after the meeting," he had said.

Meanwhile, NCP spokesperson Nawab Malik has said the party workers want Ajit Pawar to become the Deputy Chief Minister of the state.

"In Maharashtra, the Cabinet expansion will be done soon. It is a wish of the NCP workers that Ajit should become the Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra," Malik told ANI.