Bhujbal to be inducted as minister

NCP MLA Chhagan Bhujbal will be sworn in as a minister in the Mahayuti 2.0 government, filling Dhananjay Munde's vacated position amid significant OBC political shifts.

MUMBAI: Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA from Yeola, Chhagan Bhujbal, is set to become a minister in the Mahayuti 2.0 government. He will take oath on Tuesday morning at the Raj Bhavan, people in the know told HT.

Bhujbal to be inducted as minister

Bhujbal is expected to fill the vacancy left behind by Dhananjay Munde when he stepped down from his position of minister of food and civil supply, after the arrest of his confidante and election manager Walmik Karad, in connection with the brutal killing of Beed sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh.

While Bhujbal confirmed to HT that he will take the oath on Tuesday, his nephew, former MP Sameer Bhujbal, said, “We feel that a leader who fought for the rights of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) is getting justice. He continues to fight for them and others who are similarly deprived.”

Bhujbal, a prominent OBC leader, was one of the key aides of Ajit Pawar when the latter split up NCP in June 2023. He was inducted as a minister then; however, after the Mahayuti won the 2014 assembly election and returned to power, Ajit did not include him in NCP’s team of ministers. An angry Bhujbal has been venting his ire since then.

The timing of the move is significant, as it takes place soon after the Modi government’s decision to conduct caste-wise census, which will give OBCs a significant place in the state’s politics. Besides, the state is also preparing for elections to 687 municipal bodies and district councils after the monsoon. OBC voters will be significant in these elections, which are being touted as mini-assembly polls.