BJP‘s Chandrashekhar Bawankule is the guardian minister for Nagpur and Amravati.
Political observers said that 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 the 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 in the district for various 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.
Jaiswal, a close aide of former CM Eknath Shinde, said he looks forward to implementing the govt’s development agenda in Gadchiroli. “I will ensure that development of the district is fast-tracked, and we reach all of our planned milestones in a timely manner, if not earlier,” said Jaiswal. At the centre Fadnavis’ plans for Gadchiroli’s growth is the mining project that is expected to bring in employment, infrastructure development and ultimately wean away youths from the vicious trap of Naxalite influence.
(Inputs from Abhishek Choudhari in Nagpur)