Maharashtra cabinet expansion before August 15: Devendra Fadnavis

Maharashtra deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis said on Sunday that Cabinet expansion would take place before August 15 even as other BJP leaders claimed that it would happen much earlier, mostly around August 11. The state has been operating with just chief minister Eknath Shinde and Fadnavis for the last 38 days.

Senior BJP leaders like state BJP chief Chandrakant Patil and Sudhir Mungantiwar are in Delhi to meet senior BJP leaders. Shinde and Fadnavis are already in Delhi. Fadnavis refuted speculation that the Cabinet expansion is being kept on hold due to the Supreme Court hearing on a petition on the disqualification of the rebel Shiv Sena MLAs, including Shinde, and because of the pulls and pressures of the 39-odd Shiv Sena rebel MLAs who all want ministerial berths.

"The Supreme Court has not said anything on the Cabinet expansion. The issue is not pending before the Supreme Court. So, there is no connection between the cabinet expansion and the Supreme Court hearing," he said. "The Cabinet expansion will definitely happen before August 15. It will happen sooner than you think," Fadnavis told reporters in Delhi on Sunday.