Building the future 'Team-Fadnavis'

Sundays Cabinet expansion by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and the Bharatiya Janata Party BJP wasnt an exercise without reason and purpose They felt the need of dropping some seniors and juniors to accommodate new faces ahead of the legislative session and Assembly elections in OctoberFadnavis hasnt blamed the allegations of irregularities for housing minister Prakash Mehtas exit Instead he had dared the Opposition to produce evidences to nail the current and former ministers who faced corruption charges He said the revamp wasnt cosmetic but thoughtful in nature with an eye on the future We wanted new faces Some regional aspects were also considered said FadnavisAs part of the revamp that came very late some highly educated people have been inducted This shows a thick impression of Fadnavis albeit with some compromises evident for driving the CMs applecart steadily based on a balanced representation for the OBCs SCST nomadic tribes Marathas lingual minorities and ethnic groupsVidarbha where caste politics played rough threatening BJPs prospects in the Lok Sabha polls has been given more senior berths in anticipation of retaining the stronghold Ally Shiv Sena was allotted two senior berths Jaidutt Kshirsagar and Tanaji Sawant and Republican Party of India A was given a juniors slot for its general secretary Avinash MahatekarGetting Mehtas wicketMany believe Mehtas ouster wasnt as easy as getting Eknath Khadse cleanbowled because of the Mumbai leaders defiance and connections with party seniors in New Delhi Mehta belongs to a dominant Gujarati community that holds a significant sway over BJP affairs On Sunday Khadse cribbed over not being reinstated and slammed the induction of defectors like Radhakrishna Vikhe PatilIt was also said that some BJP leaders didnt want Vikhe Patil inducted because he had called the Fadnavis Cabinet Thugs of Hindustan and levelled serious corruption charges However the CM said the allegations were withdrawn Vikhe Patil became the second Opposition leader after Narayan Rane to move swiftly over to the treasury benches in the same termFadnavis has Mehtas Gujarati replacement from Mumbai in a longterm corporatorturnedMLA Yogesh Sagar But the CM could not get rid of Vidya Thakur who hasnt impressed as a junior minister obviously in anticipation of the wrath that the northIndian community would have inflicted over her exit Also Thakurs family is a staunch RSS loyalist Ashish Shelar has been rewarded for his excellent performance in two successive terms as Mumbai BJP presidentSocial justiceKamble has been a minnow despite being part of the previous BJPSena government But his SC credential has proved as an obstacle in sacking him The way out was sacking Kambles underperforming senior Rajkumar Badole There shouldnt be any complaint as the two are out in one stroke The Dalit incumbents in the new team should take over the department till the end of term Badole has been replaced with Miraj MLA Dr Suresh Khade This representation should make the poorly represented southern part of western Maharashtra happy A junior minister from Mumbai Mahatekar RPI is the other Dalit Vishnu Savra a lowprofile BJP loyalist cited health reasons for not continuing the job of a failed tribal development minister Fadnavis has inducted a firsttime adivasi MLA from Yavatmal Ashok Uike in Savras place Interestingly BJPs multiterm MLA from Yavatmal Madan Yerawar who expected a promotion continues to be a junior minister Uikes seniority may cause an emergence of a parallel power centre in YavatmalMentee loyalists inBadoles exit has benefitted CMs mentee from Nagpur Parinay Fukey who is an MLC from BhandaraGondia the segment that had defeated a BJP candidate in a Lok Sabha bypoll in 2018 But a year after the constituency returned BJPs nominee to the Parliament Fukey a doctorate holder should now be the partys BhandaraGondia satrap as Nagpur BJP is topheavyDr Sanjay Kute an active member of an informal group of young legislators which Fadnavis guided when he was in the Opposition has landed a Cabinet ministers berth after a prolonged but fruitful wait A doctor of medicine and threetime MLA he can have a free run in Buldhana district under the CMs protectionAnother doctor Anil Bonde Morshi in Amravati who opened debates in the lower house along with Kute because that was the only way available to establish their significance in the BJP has also been made a Cabinet minister For Bode a junior minister from Amravati Praveen Pote Patil was dropped because of political failure in the Lok Sabha Bondes elevation should change equations in the Amravati BJP He had quit Sena after being denied a poll ticket He won the first term as an independent and got the second as Fadnaviss pickThe CM handpicked Aurangabads Atul Save son of former Sena MP late Moreshwar Save to strengthen its base in Marathwadas capital where Sena lost its Lok Sabha seat to AIMIM recently BJP has rewarded a threetime MLA from Maval Bala Sanjay Bhegade for playing an important role in beating Ajit Pawars son Parth in the Lok SabhaIt was better late than never in case of junior minister in tribal development Raje Ambarish Atram who was sent packing Atram 33 a Birmingham Business School graduate and descendent of an erstwhile tribal king from Gadchiroli has been a big letdown since 2014 Likewise several other BJP ministers have been poor performers Some were shown the exit doors on Sunday The ones who survived should count on their luck as confrontation with the voters is not very farDharmendra Jore is political editor midday He tweets dharmendrajore Send your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomCatch up on all the latest Crime National International and Hatke news here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates