MUMBAI: Despite the setback in Maharashtra in Lok Sabha polls, six MPs from the state were allocated berths in the NDA govt’s council of ministers – Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Raksha Khadse and Murlidhar Mohol from BJP, Rajya Sabha member Ramdas Athawale from RPI (A) and Prataprao Jadhav (Shiv Sena ). At 37, Raksha, three-term MP from Raver, is the youngest minister in Modi 3.0.
Gadkari and Goyal retained their cabinet rank while Khadse, Mohol and Athawale were sworn in as junior ministers.Jadhav was made a minister of state (MoS) with independent charge. BJP had offered a MoS post to the NCP too, but the party turned down the offer, saying a junior minister rank was not acceptable.

Praful Patel who was slated to join the cabinet, said, “Last night we were informed our party will get a minister of state with independent charge…I was earlier a cabinet minister in the Union govt, so this will be a demotion for me…they have already told us to just wait for a few days, they will take remedial measures…”
Ajit Pawar, who attended the swearing-in along with the lone NCP MP Sunil Tatkare, added: “We have one Lok Sabha and one Rajya Sabha MP today, but in the next 2-3 months, we will have 3 members in RS and 4 MPs in Parliament. So, we said we should be given one (cabinet ministry) seat.” He added: “We have made it clear that either NCP gets a cabinet berth, or we wait (till it becomes available). But we shall continue to support the NDA, no question of us leaving…”
Chief minister Eknath Shinde said his party MP’s induction was a token one and whenever the cabinet is expanded, the Shiv Sena will get its due share.
Gadkari, Goyal and Athawale back as ministers in Modi 3.0
Mumbai: Six MPs from Maharashtra were inducted into PM Narendra Modi-led NDA government on Sunday – Nitin Gadkari (Nagpur), Piyush Goyal (Mumbai-North), Raksha Khadse (Raver) and Murlidhar Mohol (Pune) from BJP, besides RPI (A) leader and Rajya Sabha member Ramdas Athawale and Prataprao Jadhav (Buldhana) of Shiv Sena.
Gadkari, Goyal and Athawale were ministers in the previous two Modi govts too.
Gadkari, who scored a hat-trick by winning the Nagpur seat, hails from the Vidarbha region where BJP’s performance was dismal in the just concluded Lok Sabha polls.
Political analyst Ravikiran Deshmukh said Gadkari’s name is no surprise as he is a senior leader and pro-development. Goyal’s family is a staunch BJP loyalist and he is close to Modi. BJP selected Raksha because she is a woman MP from North Maharashtra where the party has not done as well as expected. In case of Mohol, he is the youngest MP from Maharashtra and is from Pune where the party has a large number of MLAs. “In western Maharashtra, BJP wants to expand and here it is in competition with NCP (SP). In North Maharashtra, it wants to recover and consolidate its position,” Deshmukh said.
He added that CM Eknath Shinde selected Jadhav as he wants to expand his party in rural Maharashtra. “Buldhana borders Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad) and Shinde wants to win more seats in Vidarbha and Marathwada,” explained Deshmukh.
Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis congratulated the MPs from Maharashtra who had been selected in Modi govt 3.0. On Ajit Pawar’s NCP not finding representation in the Union cabinet, Fadnavis said the alliance partner had been offered MoS (Independent charge). “They, however, said their candidate is Praful Patel who has been a cabinet minister in the past and they could not accept anything less. Since this is a coalition govt there are certain guidelines based on which the ministers have been selected and it cannot be changed for one alliance partner. Hence, they said they will wait for the cabinet expansion,” said Fadnavis.
BJP spokesperson Madhav Bhandari said it was a good selection from Maharashtra for the cabinet. “They are experienced leaders and it will benefit the party in the assembly elections,” he said. On the opposition statement that the coalition govt will fall soon, Bhandari said it was wishful thinking on their part.
On learning that his daughter-in-law Raksha was selected for the Union cabinet, senior leader Eknath Khadse, with tears brimming in his eyes, said, “It is an outcome of doing party work for several years and her faith in the party. Everyone’s blessings are with us, we are especially grateful to the voters who gave her an opportunity for the third time..,” said Khadse, while speaking to a regional TV channel.
While Khadse had announced his decision to return to BJP during LS polls, the party is yet to declare when he would be given a formal entry.