Maharashtra's Guardian Ministers: A New Line-Up Amidst Controversy

The Maharashtra government has unveiled its list of guardian ministers, with noticeable omissions such as NCP's Dhananjay Munde following controversy. While Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis retains Gadchiroli, key figures across parties take charge of various districts, including Ajit Pawar in Beed and Pune.

The Maharashtra government released its anticipated list of guardian ministers, but missing from the list is NCP leader and Food and Civil Supplies minister Dhananjay Munde. The announcement, coming after the formation of the new BJP-NCP-Shiv Sena government, sees ministers taking charge of one or more districts out of the state's total 36.

In a notable assignment, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who also oversees the Home department, will be the guardian minister for the Naxal-affected Gadchiroli district. Meanwhile, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar will handle Beed and his home district, Pune. The omission of Munde comes amidst the controversial murder case of sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh in Beed.

Dhananjay Munde, previously the guardian minister of Beed, did not receive any district assignment. This follows backlash from the Opposition and BJP members over the murder case, which has seen Munde's associate, Walmik Karad, apprehended. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena's Eknath Shinde and a cadre of BJP and NCP leaders received assignments across key districts.

(With inputs from agencies.)