Maharashtra Cabinet Expansion: Meet the 4 women ministers inducted into Devendra Fadnavis-led govt

The newly elected Maharashtra government was expanded on Sunday — with 39 lawmakers taking oath in Nagpur. The BJP was allocated 19 ministerial berths while the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena secured 11 departments and the Nationalist Congress Party headed by Ajit Pawar garnered nine. Four women MLAs featured on the list — including two BJP lawmakers who were appointed as Cabinet Ministers. 

BJP national secretary Pankaja Munde and NCP leader Aditi Tatkare took oath as Cabinet Ministers on Sunday while Madhuri Misal and Meghana Bordikar were sworn in as Ministers of State. It was no immediately clear which departments they would be overseeing in the new Fadnavis-led government.

The Cabinet expansion comes more than two weeks after CM Fadnavis and his two deputies were sworn in on December 5. The Mahayuti alliance had faced criticism from the opposition for delaying the announcement of its Cabinet despite holding a significant majority.

Who are the women appointed to the Maharashtra government?
21 women were elected to the 288 seat Maharashtra Assembly this year — with only one of them from the opposition. The BJP led the way with 14 women candidates emerging victorious. Four women secured a win on NCP tickets while two others from the Shiv Sena were also appointed as MLAs.

• BJP MLC Pankaja Munde was inducted into the Fadnavis Cabinet on Sunday. She has previously served as a Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, Minister of Women and Child Development and Minister of Earthquake Rehabilitation in previous Maharashtra administrations. 
• NCP leader Aditi Tatkare was re-inducted into the Maharashtra government on Sunday. The Shrivardhan MLA was appointed as the Cabinet Minister of women and child development in 2023. She was also a Minister of State in the previous administrations led by Eknath Shinde and Uddhav Thackeray. 
• BJP leader Madhuri Misal is a four term MLA who currently holds the Parvati seat in Pune city. The 60-year-old is a BCom graduate who had previously been a corporator from the Kasba Peth area of Pune. She has been associated with the BJP for the past 18 years.

(With inputs from agencies)