It was a midnight announcement by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, which took everyone by surprise. Chavan declared the portfolios of 38 ministers who took oath of office and secrecy on Saturday.
The most controversial was reinstating Patil as the state’s home minister. Patil was in the post when the deadly terror strikes had occurred, and in an unfortunate statement that he made at the subsequent news conference, he said that such big incidents do happen in big cities like Mumbai.
While Pawar thought it fit to reinstate Patil as home minister, sources in the Congress said the big brother too preferred Patil as home minister. Patil has become quite infamous in Karnataka for his provocative statements on the boundary row between the two states.
Interestingly, another key figure, Narayan Rane, has got back the revenue portfolio.
Patangrao Kadam, a Congress heavyweight, has been pushed to the forest department.
Bhujbal got his coveted public works. Senior NCP minister Ajit Pawar got his rewardwith two major infrastructural portfolios, energy and water conservation. Sunil Tatkare, who was energy minister in the outgoing cabinet, has become the new finance minister. Former home minister Jayant Patil has been given rural development ministry.