Mumbai: Ashok Chavan was on Saturday sworn in as the 21st Chief Minister of Maharashtra with his 38-member council of ministers, ending the fortnight-long political logjam with coalition partner NCP over portfolio distribution that delayed government formation.
The two-tier government has 27 cabinet ministers and 11 ministers of state. While 18 ministers are from the Congress, Sharad Pawar-led NCP has 20.
Chavan, would-be deputy CM Chhagan Bhujbal and other ministers were administered the oath of office by Governor S C Jamir at Raj Bhawan lawn here.
Ministers of state in the outgoing government Naseem Khan, Suresh Shetty and Hasan Mushrif were elevated to cabinet rank.
Former ministers R R Patil, Rajendra Darda, Laxmanrao Dhoble, Anil Deshmukh, Shivajirao Moghe and Jaidutt Kshirsagar have made a comeback as cabinet ministers.
Cabinet ministers in the outgoing ministry who have been dropped include Vijaysinh-Mohite Patil, Surupsinh Naik, Dilip Walse Patil, Anees Ahmed, Vimal Mundada, Chandrakant Handore, Nawab Malik, Vinay Kore, Rajendra Shingane, Raviseth Patil, Madan Patil, Rameshchandra Bang and Dilip Deshmukh.
Eleven Ministers of State, including two women, were also sworn-in. Fauzia Khan of NCP is an MLC and Varsha Gaikwad of Congress is an MLA from Dharavi here.
A sterner test
Ashok Chavan faces a sterner test of his leadership and managing skills through the choppy waters of coalition politics after just over 10 months at the helm of affairs in the state in the previous stint.
Chavan's non-controversial image may have landed him the top job after Vilasrao Deshmukh made way in the wake of Mumbai terror attack, but his real test would lie in managing the coalition which took 15 days of hard bargaining between Congress and NCP over portfolios and the number of ministries.
The excellent equations 51-year-old Chavan enjoys with Congress command, specially with Gen Next leader Rahul Gandhi, also helped in no small measure in warding off potential challenges from more seasoned seasoned aspirants Vilasrao Deshmukh and Narayan Rane, both former chief ministers.
The selection of Chavan also underlines the importance of political inheritance in Congress. He inherited the political legacy of his late father S B Chavan, becoming the first father-son duo in the state's history to adorn the chief ministerial chair. The senior Chavan was a loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
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