Weeks after toppling Uddhav Thackeray’s government in a sensational takedown, Shiv Sena rebel Eknath Shinde will on Tuesday expand the Maharashtra Cabinet that currently has only two members — Shinde himself, and his BJP colleague Devendra Fadnavis. A host of Sena rebels are likely to be inducted into the council of ministers, along with BJP MLAs. Shinde, who sent the Thackeray family to the brink of political oblivion by spearheading the Shiv Sena revolt, had told reporters in Nanded that the much-awaited Cabinet expansion will take place today, for which a ceremony will be held at the Raj Bhavan at 11 am.

Shinde, the new Maharashtra Chief Minister, will have a tough time warding off discontent in the Sena faction led by him, as it would be impossible to accommodate the over 50 MLAs that supported him, in the cabinet.

From the BJP, state party chief Chandrakant Patil, Sudhir Mungantiwar, Girish Mahajan, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, Suresh Khade and Atul Save are likely to be inducted, PTI reported.

From the Shinde camp, Uday Samant, Sandipan Bhumre, Dadaji Bhuse, Gulab Patil, Shambhuraj Desai, Deepak Kesarkar, and Sanjay Shirsat are expected to be named ministers, Indian Express reported.

After his coronation which took place over 40 days ago, the CM made seven visits to the national capital, where he apparently discussed Cabinet expansion with the BJP leadership.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar claimed Shinde had promised a ministerial berth to every MLA who joined him.

“Now Shinde is unable to fulfil his promise, hence the delay in the cabinet expansion. The chief minister should disclose the reasons for the delay,” he said.

With inputs from PTI