BJP could get up to 23 cabinet slots in Maharashtra, Sena 11 and NCP 9

Hectic deliberations were on in the newly formed government in Maharashtra on Friday to assign slots in the Devendra Fadnavis cabinet 24 hours after the new chief minister and his two deputies took oath, people familiar with the parleys said.

- Surendra P Gangan and Faisal Malik

Of the 288 legislators in the state assembly, a maximum of 43 can hold ministerial portfolios, though the previous Eknath Shinde-led government had just 29 ministers as a much talked about cabinet expansion never materialised. Of those 29, the BJP had 10 berths, the Shiv Sena another 10 and the Ajit Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party nine.

In the new power-sharing pact being worked out, the BJP, which won 132 seats, will likely have 22-23 ministries, Shinde's Shiv Sena, which has 57 MLAs, is expected to get 11-12 berths, while the NCP, with 41 MLAs, could be given 9-10 slots, said the people cited above.

BJP functionaries said the home department, which was a big bone of contention that delayed Shinde joining the new government, will remain with the party.

"While the allocation of three other key departments finance, revenue and urban development is still to be decided, most of the other portfolios have being fine-tuned," said another BJP leader privy to the tripartite negotiations.

From the BJP, he said, Girish Mahajan, who is a seven-term MLA from Jamner, Radhakrishan Vikhe Patil, a lawmaker from Shirdi, and Ravindra Chavan from Dombivali have been finalised for the cabinet. Other leaders whose induction appears very likely are Pankaja Munde, an MLC, Aurangabad (East) MLA Atul Save, Suresh Khade, who won from Miraj, Jayakumar Rawal, MLA from Sindhkheda, Devyani Farande, who represents Nashik Central, and Madhuri Misal who won from Parvati.