New Delhi: The Maharashtra government has released the much-awaited list of guardian ministers for all 36 districts, a month after the new BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena coalition government was formed. However, NCP leader and Food and Civil Supplies Minister Dhananjay Munde was excluded from the list. The Parali MLA previously served as Beed’s guardian minister under the Mahayuti government led by then-CM Eknath Shinde.
His exclusion came after the brutal murder of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed, with the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) alliance criticising him after his associate Walmik Karad was arrested in connection with the crime.
Devendra Fadnavis first CM to be guardian minister
Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also handles the home department, has been appointed the guardian minister of Gadchiroli, a Maoist-affected district. Fadnavis began the New Year with a visit to the Maoist-affected district of Gadchiroli. Fadnavis, during his January 1 visit, travelled in a public bus, conducted an aerial survey, and interacted with school children.
Fadnavis has become the first CM to take on such a role. Shiv Sena’s Ashish Jaiswal will act as a co-guardian minister for Gadchiroli. Deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar has been assigned Beed district along with his home district Pune.
Munde congratulated Pawar on social media platform X, stating that he had requested Pawar to take charge of Beed due to the district’s “changed political and social situation”. He expressed confidence that Pawar’s leadership would boost development in Beed.
Key assignments for guardian ministers
- Eknath Shinde, deputy CM, will oversee Mumbai City and his stronghold, Thane.
- Pankaja Munde, BJP leader and cousin of Dhananjay Munde, has been made the guardian minister of Jalna district.
- Chandrashekhar Bawankule, BJP’s state president, is now the guardian minister of Nagpur and Amravati.
- Ashish Shelar, BJP, will handle Mumbai Suburbs, with Mangal Prabhat Lodha as co-guardian minister.
- Aditi Tatkare, NCP, has been assigned Raigad, a position previously eyed by Shiv Sena’s Bharat Gogawale.
Other appointments
Shiv Sena ministers were assigned other districts, including Shambhuraj Desai for Satara and Gulabrao Patil for Jalgaon. BJP ministers Girish Mahajan and Jaykumar Gore will handle Nashik and Solapur, respectively, while NCP leaders like Makrand Patil and Manikrao Kokate received Buldhana and Nandurbar districts.
In Kolhapur, Sena’s Prakash Abitkar will serve as guardian minister, with BJP’s Madhuri Misal as co-guardian minister. Guardian ministers control the District Planning and Development Council (DPDC) funds, which are critical for development and beautification projects. They also represent the state in district-level celebrations like Independence Day and Republic Day.
This is the first time that the state has appointed joint guardian ministers. With 42 members in the council of ministers, the move is seen as a strategic distribution of responsibilities to ensure equitable development and to placate disgruntlement.
