The Maharashtra government on January 31, effected a significant cabinet reshuffle, reallocating key portfolios in the wake of the sudden demise of senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar. Deputy Chief Minister Sunetra Pawar has been entrusted with the Excise, Sports and Minorities Development departments, ministries earlier overseen by her late husband.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is expected to assume charge of the Finance and Planning portfolios, a move aimed at ensuring continuity and administrative stability as the state prepares to present its annual budget for the financial year 2026–27 in March.
Sources within the state government indicated that Fadnavis is likely to present the budget himself during the upcoming Budget Session. Much of the preparatory work for the budget, including departmental consultations and fiscal projections, had already been completed under Ajit Pawar when he held the finance portfolio.
According to senior officials quoted in media, introducing a new minister at this advanced stage of budget preparation could have complicated last-minute policy decisions, financial fine-tuning and inter-departmental coordination. Retaining the Finance and Planning departments with the Chief Minister is therefore being viewed as a pragmatic step to avoid disruption during the critical pre-budget phase.
Sunetra Pawar’s portfolio allocation follows her recent induction as Deputy Chief Minister in the BJP-led Mahayuti government, days after Ajit Pawar’s death created a major vacuum in both the cabinet and the Nationalist Congress Party’s leadership structure. Ajit Pawar had earlier handled several high-profile ministries, including finance, excise, sports and minority affairs.
The ruling alliance, however, stressed that the current arrangement is interim. After the presentation of the state budget, the Finance and Planning portfolios are expected to be reassigned to the NCP, in keeping with the power-sharing understanding within the Mahayuti government.
Fadnavis had previously handled the finance portfolio in 2023, and his anticipated return to the role is being widely seen within the alliance as a practical and stabilising decision during a sensitive political and fiscal period for the state.
