Check out the list of BJP leaders who have made it into the Maharashtra cabinet

Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, 65
Constituency: Shirdi
Revenue minister in previous govt

A seasoned politician who has worked in the cooperative sector, Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil has roots in rural Maharashtra. After four decades with Congress, Vikhe-Patil joined the BJP in 2019. In the Eknath Shinde-led coalition government, he got the second highest portfolio of revenue along with dairy and animal husbandry. He has represented the state legislative assembly uninterrupted since 1995 to emerge as the seveth term MLA. He has held a dozen portflios, including agriculture, food and drugs administration, school education, ports, skill development and extrepreneurship, Marathi bhasha (languages), earth quake, relief and rehabilitation and OBC. Vikhe-Patil was also the leader of the opposition from 2014 to 2019.

Chadrakant Patil, 65
Constituency: Kothrud

Senior BJP leader Chandrakant Patil who was mentored in RSS started career with its students wing, ABVP and joined the BJP in 2004. A low profile leader, he is considered close to Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In 2019, Patil contested Assembly polls from Kothrud and won — a seat that he retained in 2024. During 2014-2019, he earned number two position in the Fadnavis government, holding many important portfolios, including PWD, revenue, agriculture cooperation and marketing. In the Eknath Shinde-led government, he was made higher and technical education minister. Patil also became the state BJP president from July 2019 to August 2022.

Girish Mahajan, 64
Constituency: Jamner

Considered a “trouble-shooter” in the party, seventh-term MLA Girish Mahajan started his political career from gram panchayat. He had also worked with the ABVP. During the first tenure of Devendra Fadnavis regime, Mahajan was given the water resources ministry and additional charge of medical health ministry. In the Eknath Shinde-led government, Mahajan held another important portfolio of rural development ministry. Over the years, he made a place for himself as a close confidant of Fadnavis. Whether it was the Maratha agitation or placating Eknath Shinde to join the Mahayuyi government as deputy CM, Mahajan played an important role of BJP emissary.

Ganesh Naik, 74
Constituency: Airoli

Six-time MLA Ganesh Naik started his career in Shiv Sena in the early 1990s when he made his electoral debut in Assembly polls. In 1999, Naik switched loyalties from then undivided Shiv Sena to newly formed NCP led by Sharad Pawar. He gained prominence in the party and was made a minister in the Congress-NCP government. He has held labour, excise and environment portfolios. He was famous for holding junta durbar, a concept where people would throng his chamber with their grievances and matter concerning them. It was in 2019 that Naik along with his son and 50 corporators of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation joined the BJP. He successfully contested on BJP ticket in 2019 and 2024 Assembly polls.

Mangal Prabhat Lodha, 69
Constituency: Malabar Hills

The real estate giant cum politician Mangal Prabhat Lodha has risen in the right wing from Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad to consolidate his place as Cabinet minister in the Mahayuti government. He represents the high-profile constituency Malabar Hills in South Mumbai. The fifth-term MLA made the electoral debut in 1995 and contested from same constituency successfully. In the Eknath Shinde-led government, he was the minister for skill development and entrepreneur where he initiated sweeping reforms to push youth employment by creating a robust value chain of demand and supply by linking skill training to industry demands. A politician known for few words, Lodha has always been prized member of BJP in Maharashtra.

Jaikumar Rawal, 49
Constituency: Sindhkheda

Fifth-term MLA Jaikumar Rawal has succeeded in holding the constituency uninterrupted since 2004 to 2024. Beginning his politics with the BJP, he climbed up the ladder from youth wing leader and general secretary to minister. In 2016, Rawal was made cabinet minister for tourism, employment guarantee scheme, and food and drugs administration. As the minister, he raised objection over portrayal of queen Padmavati on screen. A Rajput, Rawal then wrote to the Central Board of Film Certification, demanding objectionable aspects be removed from the film.

Pankaja Munde, 45
MLC

The BJP national secretary has played an important role in mobilising OBC votes through her rallies during Assembly polls. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Pankaja lost from her home constituency Beed. In July 2024, she was made member of state legislative council ( MLC), marking her return to Maharashtra politics. Pankaja, who has carved her own niche, often inviting flak for her outspokennes and leaders, is seen as OBC face of BJP in the Marathwada region. In 2009, she made her electoral debut from Parli Assembly seat and won. In 2014, she was made the cabinet minister with two important portfolios — rural development and women and chold welfare. The defeat in 2019 Assembly polls from Parli was a body blow. A year later she was moved to Delhi as national secretary in BJP president JP Nadda’s team and given charge of Madhya Pradesh.

Atul Save, 60
Constituency: Aurangabad East

The three-term BJP MLA from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad East) came to limelight for his crucial role in Aurangabad Municipal Corporation polls. In the 2024 Assembly polls, Save defeated Imtiaz Jaleel of the AIMIM from in Aurangabad East overriding the strong communal polarisation to make a hattrick 2014, 2019 and 2024. In the Eknath Shinde government, he was entrusted important portfolio cooperation. With the NCP joining the coalition in 2023, he had to give up cooperation. Instead, he was given the housing ministry. In June 2019, Save was made minister of state (MoS) for the first time with industry and mining department.

Ashok Uike, 60
Constituency: Ralegaon

Senior tribal leader Ashok Uike has played an important role in giving the BJP foothold in tribal belt of Vidarbha region. As the president of Scheduled Tribe Morcha, which he headed between July 2020 to July 2023, Uike worked to reach out the right wing to the tribal sector. He contested Assembly polls first in 2014 from Ralegaon in district Yavatmal and won. In the subsequent elections in 2019 and 2024, Uike contested and retained the BJPs upmanship against Congress in the tribal belt. During Fadnavis’s first tenure, he was made minister for tribal affairs for a brief time.

Ashish Shelar, 52
Constituency: Bandra West

BJP’s Bandra boy has played important role in giving the organisation a strong foothold in Mumbai. As the Mumbai BJP president, he helped the party make electoral gains in Lok Sabha and Assembly polls. Shelar first contested Assembly polls from Bandra West in 2014. He has since held the constituency. A member of the BJP’s core committee, he was first made minister for a brief period from June 2019 to November 2019. Shelar started as corporator in BMC before switching to legislative role as MLC from 2012 to 2014. His area of focus has been issues related to Mumbai.

Shivendrasinh Bhosale, 51
Constituency: Satara

In the 2024 Assembly elections, Shivendra Raje Bhosale won the Satara assembly seat for the fifth consecutive term as a BJP candidate. He switched from NCP to BJP in 2019. Beginning his politics with undivided NCP led by Sharad Pawar, the heir from the royal family has been a low profile leader restricting his work to Satara in western Maharashtra. A decendent of great warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Bhosale is also the cousin of Udayan Raje Bhosale — BJP’s Satara Lok Sabha MP, also belonging to the royal clan. He contested the first Assembly polls as NCP candidate in 2004. In 2009 and 2014, he won as NCP MLA. Ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, he joined the BJP. Last two elections, he contested asBJP candidate successfully.

Jaykumar Gore, 49
Constituency: Man

Not from the RSS-BJP parivar, Gore joined the BJP leaving Congress in 2019. He won the 2019 Assembly polls comfortably on BJP ticket. In 2014, Gore had contested from Man in Satara district as an independent candidate and survived the then strong Modi wave to emerge successful. The three-term MLA who has worked at grassroots level has now been rewarded with a Cabinet berth.

Sanjay Sawkare, 55
Constituency: Bhusawal

Bhusawal constituency in Jalgaon district has been a stronghold of the BJP. After joining the party in 2014, Sawkare has represented the constituency successfully in 2014, 2019 and 2024. He started his political career with NCP led by Sharad Pawar and contested from that party in the 2009 polls. However, in the past 10 years, Sawkare has been working to ensure BJP’s organisational growth as per the directives from the state leadership.

Nitesh Rane, 42
Constituency: Kankavli

After beginning his political career in Congress, it has been a major political transformation for Rane as the young fiery Hindutva face in the right wing BJP. Son of former union minister Narayan Rane, Nitesh Rane had worked along side his father in Konkan region till 2018. He was also proactive in Swabhimani Sanghatana, an independent outfit founded by Rane senior after he quit the Congress in 2017. In 2014, Nitesh contested as Congress candidate from Kankavli and won. Five years later, father and son joined the BJP. In 2019 and 2024, Nitesh won Kankavli seat with ease and has been leading the Sakal Hindu Samaj protests against “love, land and vote jihad” across Maharashtra.

Akash Phundkar, 41
Constituency: Khamgaon

Three-term MLA from Khamgaon in Buldhana district has been consistently retaining the party’s upmanship in the seat. Son of late Pandurang Phundkar alias Bhausaheb Phundkar who was BJP president, Akash had to fight hard to make his space in the constituency against the Congress. His late father Bhausaheb Phundkar, who was close to late Gopinath Munde, was the founder member of the BJP. Akash Phundkar got a ministerial berth for the first time though his father had served in Fadnavis’s government in 2014-2019.