MUMBAI: Over a month after ministers took oath, the Maharashtra govt on Saturday announced guardian ministers for all 36 districts across the state. Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis was named the guardian minister of the naxal-affected Gadchiroli, becoming the first CM to be appointed a guardian minister. Sena’s Ashish Jaiswal will be the joint guardian minister for Gadchiroli.
Deputy CM Eknath Shinde will be the guardian minister for Mumbai City and the Shiv Sena bastion of Thane, while deputy CM Ajit Pawar will be the guardian minister for Beed and Pune. BJP’s Ashish Shelar will be the guardian minister for Suburban Mumbai, while Mangal Prabhat Lodha has been appointed as joint guardian minister. BJP’s Chandrashekhar Bawankule is the guardian minister for Nagpur and Amravati.
Political observers said it was the first time the state govt appointed joint guardian ministers, especially when there are 42 ministers in the state council of ministers. NCP’s Dhananjay Munde, who is under fire over the killing of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed, has not been made guardian minister. His cousin, BJP’s Pankaja Munde, is the guardian minister for Jalna district.
Shinde’s appointment as guardian minister of Thane and Mumbai City is seen as a bid to take on Shiv Sena (UBT) ahead of the BMC polls, especially after it received a drubbing in the state assembly polls.
In Kolhapur, Sena’s Prakash Abitkar will be the guardian minister, while BJP’s Madhuri Misal will be the joint guardian minister.
Guardian ministers control the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) funds, which are used for development and beautification projects. They also preside over events like Independence Day and Republic Day.
Sena’s Uday Samant is the guardian minister for Ratnagiri, while BJP’s Nitesh Rane is the guardian minister for Sindhudurg. In a setback for Sena’s Bharat Gogawale, NCP’s Aditi Tatkare will be the guardian minister for Raigad district. This post was claimed by Gogawale. Sena’s Sanjay Shirsat is the guardian minister for Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Apart from Sena’s Gogawale, Sena minister Dada Bhuse too has not been made guardian minister.
In a setback for NCP, BJP’s Girish Mahajan will be the guardian minister for Nashik. NCP’s Manikrao Kokate had claimed this post. Kokate will be the guardian minister for Nandurbar. BJP’s Jaykumar Rawal will be the guardian minister for Dhule. BJP’s Ganesh Naik will be the guardian minister for Palghar. Sena’s Sambhuraje Desai is the guardian minister for Satara.
