Mumbai: PM Modi has a soft corner for Maharashtra. As expected, state BJP President Raosaheb Danve is part of the ministry. So is BJP MP Sanjay Dhotre from Akola. The Shiv Sena will have one berth which has gone to its nominee Arvind Sawant.
Since Ramdas Athawale of the Republican Party was part of the canvassing and helped wean away the Dalit vote, he too has been included. Already, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal and Prakash Javadekar are part of the Cabinet. Danve’s exit will clear the decks for changes in BJP state hierarchy. Some names – those of Eknath Khadse, Chief Minister’s trusted aide Girish Mahajan and previous state president Sudhir Mungantiwar from Chandrapur – are doing the rounds as Danve’s successor. On the flip side, two ministers from Maharashtra, Suresh Prabhu from Konkan and Subhash Bhamre from Dhule, have been left out.
