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17 ex-ministers among 18 sworn-in in Maharashtra, no woman in Shinde cabinet

Last updated on: August 09, 2022 17:09 IST

The much-delayed expansion of the 41-day-old Maharashtra ministry saw as many as 17 former ministers taking oath on Tuesday.

Of the 18 ministers sworn in at the Raj Bhavan ceremony, only one has become a minister for the first time.

The list doesn't include women, a move being panned by politicians and women's rights activists.

The Bharatiya Janata Party has 12 women legislators in the state, including one from the Legislative Council.

The Shinde group has two women legislators and also the backing of an Independent woman MLA.

There are 28 women legislators in Maharashtra, including three from the Legislative Council..

The new ministers include Shiv Sena's Sanjay Rathod, who was the forest minister when Uddhav Thackeray was the chief minister, and was forced to resign after BJP leaders blamed him for a woman's suicide.

 

The new ministers include state BJP president Chandrakant Patil (63), who is a two-term MLC and first-term MLA from western Maharashtra. He was revenue and PWD minister during 2014-19.

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