Chhagan Bhujbal takes oath as Cabinet minister

The induction of veteran Nationalist Congress Party NCP leader and Other Backward Classes OBC heavyweight Chhagan Bhujbal on Tuesday into the Maharashtra Cabinet is seen as a balancing act by the Mahayuti alliance ahead of the civic polls due later this yearEarlier this month the Supreme Court directed the Maharashtra government to conduct the longpending civic polls possibly within a fourmonth timeframe This means that all 29 municipal corporations in Maharashtra along with 248 nagar parishads 42 nagar panchayats 32 zilla parishads and 336 panchayat samitis will go for polls which are currently under the charge of appointed administratorsIn fact of the 29 municipal corporations the term of more than 20 expired between 2019 and 2022 The elections for all these local bodies are due and were on hold following a petition filed in court over reservation for OBC which have a sizable population in the state and a huge potential to influence the election resultsNo wonder now that the apex court has ordered polls subject to the outcome of the petition hearing the state government has quickly moved to woo the community vote bank The community has been upset as the OBC strongman from Maharashtra Bhujbal was not administered oath during the formation of the BJPled Devendra Fadnavis governmentBhujbal had openly expressed his displeasure over being sidelined Last year the 77yearold leader had created a stir in political circles with his statement ldquoJaha nahin chaina waha nahi rehna No point staying at a palace where there is no peacerdquo On Tuesday when asked about the statement he made last year he said ldquoAllrsquos well that ends wellrdquo Speaking with the media Fadnavis asserted that Bhujbal is the voice of OBC mdash a statement that underlines the importance of both community votes and the OBC leaderBhujbal is said to have replaced Dhananjay Munde who had to give up his ministership following allegations of his links with those arrested in the brutal murder of Santosh Deshmukg Massajog sarpanch in Beed district Following Mundersquos exit one ministerial berth from the Ajit Pawarled NCPrsquos quota was lying vacant Now that Bhujbal is inducted as Cabinet minister it would be interesting to watch whether the ongoing tussle over the guardian ministership of Raigad and Nashik comes to an end or continuesBhujbal comes from Nashik and the Ajit Pawar faction might give up their claim for guardian ministership in Raigad and instead ask for Nashik Fadnavis had announced NCPrsquos Aditi Tatkare and BJPrsquos Girish Mahajan as guardian ministers for Raigad and Nashik respectively But the move had irked Eknath Shindersquos Shiv Sena as its party leader Bharat Gogawale had made a claim for the Raigad district guardian ministershipFollowing a tussle within the Mahayuti alliance over Raigad and Nashik the CM cancelled both orders and since then there has been no development Now whether the NCP takes Nashik and gives up the claim for Riagad or whether the current situation continues needs to be seenMore about minister Chhagan BhujbalChhagan Bhujbal originally a grassrootslevel Shiv Sainik was elected as corporator mayor of Mumbai and even as party MLA But in 1991 when erstwhile Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray opposed the implementation of recommendations of the Mandal Commission Bhujbal quit the party and joined Congress Later in 1999 when Sharad Pawar parted ways with the Congress and formed the NCP Bhujbal joined the Maratha strongman and held deputy chief minister home minister and several key ministerial posts in the undivided NCP However due to allegations of involvement in the controversial Telgi stamp paper scam Bhujbal had to resign as the deputy chief minister In 2016 the OBC leader was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate and nearly two years later was granted bail in the case In 2023 when Ajit Pawar decided to separate from the NCP Bhujbal quit the Sharad Pawar camp and sided with Pawar JratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params