BJP assigns important portfolios to defecting leaders

In the Mahayuti government, the BJP has increased the importance of those who came from other parties by giving them important accounts. At the same time, a similar warning has been given to the established leaders to step away now. 

In the Devendra Fadnavis government, the BJP has reduced the importance of well-known leaders. At the same time new faces are given more opportunities. While doing that, important accounts have been entrusted to those who came from other parties. 

Gram Vikas and Panchayat Raj accounts are more important to strengthen the party's hold in rural areas. In rural areas, the authority to allocate funds under the 25:15 scheme rests with the Rural Development Minister. This department dominates the Zilla Parishads and Panchayat Committees. BJP has handed over this account to Jayakumar Gore who joined BJP from Congress. 

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Actually, Gore was in trouble due to the corruption during the corona era. The High Court had ordered an inquiry into the complaint against his colleagues. Gore was accused in the assembly of usurping funds on behalf of those who died during the corona virus. BJP entrusted the important account of village development to Gore.

Public works, another important account, was handed over by the BJP to Shivendraraje Bhosale, who joined from NCP. In the politics of Satara, two cousins, Udayanraje and Shivendraraje, had a bitter dispute in the past. But BJP elites paid attention and brought the two together. Satara was the stronghold of Sharad Pawar. But recently Sharad Pawar's supremacy suffered a big blow. This is why the BJP has tried to send a message to Western Maharashtra and especially the Maratha community by giving Shivendra Raje a ministerial opportunity. Sanjay Savkare, who came from NCP, was entrusted with the garment industry account.


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• Ganesh Naik has been included in the cabinet and assigned the forest portfolio, but his inclusion has drawn objections from several BJP members. This is primarily because Naik's son contested the election from the NCP's Sharad Pawar faction against BJP's Manda Mhatre, and some of Naik's close relatives had also resigned from the BJP to join the NCP.
  
  
• Sudhir Mungantiwar was not given another opportunity in the cabinet. Reports suggest this decision is influenced by the perception of his weakening position following potential defeat in the Lok Sabha elections.
  
  
• Girish Mahajan, known for his role as a troublemaker within the party, has been strategically managed by dividing his responsibilities. Although he holds significant portfolios such as rural development, medical education, tourism, and water resources, the water resources department itself has been split into three divisions, which has been interpreted as an attempt to curtail his influence.
  
  
• Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, who joined the BJP from the Congress, has been entrusted with key responsibilities, including revenue, housing, and animal husbandry. Additionally, two divisions of the water resources department have also been allocated to him following its restructuring.
  
  
• Pankaja Munde, despite being included in the cabinet through a Legislative Council seat after her defeat in the Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, has been assigned relatively less significant portfolios, such as environment and animal husbandry, signaling the party's tempered support for her.
  
  
• With the exception of state president Chandrasekhar Bawankule, most other BJP leaders have not been entrusted with highly influential or powerful portfolios, reflecting a broader strategy within the party’s leadership.