Gadkari, Goyal among 6 ministers from Maharashtra in Union cabinet

Six MPs from Maharashtra have been inducted into the Modi government 30 with the BJP securing four berths and allies Shiv Sena and RPI A getting one eachNotably the NCP led by Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar declined the BJPs offer of Minister of State MoS with independent charge insisting on a cabinet berth for Praful PatelThere were eight ministers from Maharashtra belonging to the BJP and its allies in the second term of the Modi government in 201924 The number came down to six on SundayIn the new Modi government 30 BJP MPs Nitin Gadkari and Piyush Goyal were retained as cabinet ministersRaksha Khadse BJPs lone woman MP from Maharashtra and firsttime MP Murlidhar Mohol were sworn in as Ministers of StateAmong BJPs allies RPI A chief Ramdas Athawale was retained as an MoS with independent charge and Prataprao Jadhav from the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde also took oath as an MoS with independent chargeThe NCP led by Ajit Pawar refused the MoS offer demanding a cabinet berth for Rajya Sabha member Praful Patel due to his experienceDeputy CM Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said coalition formulas must be respected assuring the NCP would be considered in future cabinet expansions reported PTIWe had offered one berth of minister with independent charge to the NCP but they wanted Praful Patels name to be finalised Due to his experience the NCP believed he could not be made MoS with independent charge Fadnavis said reported PTIIn a coalition government a formula has to be drawn which cannot be broken for one party he saidI can confidently say whenever cabinet expansion takes place the government will consider the NCP We did try to include NCP right now but they insisted on cabinet portfolio the senior BJP leader said reported PTISpeaking to reporters in Delhi Ajit Pawar asserted the NCP was ready to wait but wanted a cabinet berthThe eight ministers from Maharashtra who were part of the Modiled government from 201924 included Nitin Gadkari Piyush Goyal Narayan Rane Bhagwat Karad Raosaheb Danve Bharti Pawar and Kapil Patil all from BJP and Ramdas Athawale of the RPI AIn the recently held Lok Sabha elections the BJP fared poorly in Maharashtra as it could win only nine seats compared to the 2019 tally of 23 out of the total 48 constituencies in the state The Shiv Sena led by Shinde bagged seven seats and Ajit Pawarled NCP just oneGadkari Goyal Khadse and Mohol won from Nagpur Mumbai North Raver and Pune Lok Sabha constituencies respectively in the recent electionsNotably the BJP did not reinduct Narayan Rane in the Union cabinet though he won from RatnagiriSindhudurg Lok Sabha seatThree other BJP ministers Raosaheb Danve Bharati Pawar and Kapil Patil in the previous government lost the elections this timeWith inputs from PTI