Maharashtra cabinet: Devendra Fadnavis gets home, finance and law ministries; Eknath Shinde keeps PWD, environment

Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis (PTI file photo)

Around 45 days after taking oath as Maharashtra chief minister, Eknath Shinde on August 14 allotted portfolios, with Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis being assigned the key ministries of state home affairs and finance and planning.

Fadnavis has also been allotted the ministries of law and justice, housing, power supply, protocol and water resources.

Shinde has kept the ministries of public works department (PWD), urban development, social justice, soil and water conservation, disaster management, environment and minorities affairs for himself.

Shinde's decision to retain the environment ministry comes amid the row over his move to overturn the erstwhile Uddhav Thackeray government's decision to shift metro car shed outside the Aarey forest region.

Former Leader of Opposition Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who had jumped from the Congress to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the 2019 assembly elections, has been assigned the ministry of revenue.

BJP leader Sudhir Mungantiwar, who was the finance minister in the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis-led government, has been appointed as the minister for forest, fisheries and cultural activities.

Chandrakant Patil, who recently resigned as the BJP state unit chief as the party decided to include him in the state government, has been named as the minister for higher and technical education, textiles industry and parliamentary work.

Deepak Kesarkar, the chief spokesperson of the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena faction, has been assigned the ministries of school education and Marathi language.

Abdul Sattar, another Sena MLA from the Shinde faction, has been named as the state agriculture minister.

Shinde camp's Sanjay Rathod, who had resigned from the Thackeray government after being accused in an abatement to suicide case, has been appointed as the minister for food and drug administration (FDA).

Among other members of the Shinde-led Sena faction, Uday Samant has been assigned the ministry of industry, Tanaji Sawant health and Dada Bhuse has been given ports.

BJP's Girish Majahan, Mangal Prabhat Lodha and Vijaykumar Gavit have been named as the ministers for medical education, women and child welfare, and tribal development, respectively.

The portfolios were allocated five days after 18 legislators from the Shinde-led Sena faction and the BJP took oath as ministers in the state government.