The

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

politician

Vilasrao Deshmukh Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh (26 May 1945 – 14 August 2012) was an Indian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, first term from 18 October 1999 to 16 January 2003 and second term, from 1 November 2004 to 5 De ...

formed his first government after the

1999 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election Assembly elections was held in Maharashtra, India in two phases on September 5, 1999, and September 11, 1999. Election results were declared on October 7, 1999. The major parties were Bharatiya Janata Party - Shiv Sena (Yuti) alliance, Congre ...

. The government consisted of Deshmukh's Congress party,

Nationalist Congress Party The Nationalist Congress Party is one of the List of political parties in India#State parties, state parties in India and is one of the major political parties in Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Maharashtra with a recognised state party statu ...

, several smaller parties, and independent politicians. Deshmukh was sworn in on 18 October 1999 and continued as

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

until his resignation on 16 January 2003.

Government formation

The 1999 elections had returned

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

as the largest legislative party with 75 out of the State's 288 legislative assembly seats. Deshmukh, who had previously served as a cabinet minister in the State was subsequently supported by the

Peasants and Workers Party of India The Peasants and Workers Party of India (PWP) is a Marxist political party in Maharashtra, India. The party was founded in 1948, having its roots from the pre-Independence period and has around 10,000 members. The influence of the party is large ...

Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh The Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh (IAST: Bhāripa Bahujana Mahāsaṅgha; BBM) was an Indian political party founded by Prakash Ambedkar on 4 July 1994. The party was a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and had its roots in the Schedu ...

Republican Party of India (Gavai) The Republican Party of India (Gavai) is a political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about ...

Republican Party of India (Athawale) The Republican Party of India (Athawale) is a political party in India. The party is a splinter group of the Republican Party of India and has its roots in the Scheduled Castes Federation led by B. R. Ambedkar. The president of the party is Ram ...

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...

Janata Dal (Secular) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...

, and Independents. The

Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated as CPI(M)) is a Communism in India, communist List of political parties in India, political party in India. It is the largest communist party in India in terms of membership and electora ...

supported the government from outside. The ministry had initially consisted of 61 member. However, coalition partner NCP was concerned with the large size of the cabinet. As a compromise, Deshmukh agreed that his Congress party would drop one cabinet minister and three ministers of state, while the NCP would ask two of its junior ministers to resign.

List of ministers

The cabinet consisted of 55 members - Deshmukh, his

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

Chhagan Bhujbal Chhagan Bhujbal (born 15 October 1947) is an Indian politician from Maharashtra, who is the member of current Government of Maharashtra, headed by Devendra Fadnavis. Currently he is a member of 15th Legislative Assembly of Maharashtra from Yeol ...

, 24

cabinet ministers A cabinet in governing is a group of people with the constitutional or legal task to rule a country or state, or advise a head of state, usually from the executive branch. Their members are known as ministers and secretaries and they are ...

, and 29

ministers of state Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior ministers ...

Cabinet ministers

The following ministers were allocated portfolios in October 1999.

Ministers of state

The ministers also included the following ministers of state.

Guardian Ministers

References

{{Maharashtra state government ministries Indian National Congress state ministries 1999 in Indian politics D Nationalist Congress Party Cabinets established in 1999 Cabinets disestablished in 2003 Republican Party of India (Athawale) politicians Janata Dal (Secular)