Mumbai: Maharashtra Legislative Council Deputy Chairperson and a senior Shiv Sena leader Neelam Gorhe was given a cabinet minister’s rank on Tuesday. With this, Gorhe becomes the first woman in the Shiv Sena to get a cabinet minister’s rank.
In the MahaYuti government, the lone woman minister Aditi Tatkare is from the Ajit Pawar-led NCP, while there is no one from the BJP or the Shiv Sena. Sources said this is Chief Minister Eknath Shinde’s move to bolster the Mukhyamantri Majhi Ladki Bahin Yojana in the run-up to the upcoming state assembly elections.
Neelam Gorhe Expresses Her Gratitude
Thanking Shinde, Gorhe said, “Women have got the post of cabinet minister earlier but I am very happy about this because I am the first woman in the Shiv Sena to get a cabinet minister’s rank.”
About Senior Shiv Sena Leader Neela Gorhe
Gorhe, who switched sides to the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena deserting the Shiv Sena (UBT), could not get the ministerial berth in the state cabinet earlier. Gorhe joined the Shiv Sena in 1998 and was first elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Council as Shiv Sena (united) nominee in 2002, successively being elected in 2008, 2014, and 2020. Since 2019, she has held the post of Deputy Chairperson’s post. After the term of the then Chairman Ramraje Nimbalkar expired, the Chairman’s post has not been filled since July 8, 2022.
In the absence of the Chairman, it was Gorhe who had been presiding over the proceedings of the state council. After she deserted the Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and joined the Shinde camp, the leader of opposition in the state council Ambadas Danve demanded her disqualification. However, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis intervened and explained the legal stand whereby she remained in the post of Deputy Chairperson.
BJP legislator Praveen Darekar had moved a no-confidence motion against Gorhe in December 2021 (during the Maha Vikas Aghadi government), withdrawing it in July 2023 after she joined the Shinde camp.
Sources said Gorhe has been actively involved in taking up issues relating to women's empowerment, atrocities against women, gender equality, and holistic development of women across sectors. She was also at the forefront of raising Dalit issues and staging agitations for the same, they said.
