Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis expanded his five month-old cabinet on Tuesday. He inducted NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal as a minister. Bhujbal, 77, was sworn in by Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan.
Bhujbal’s inclusion in the Maharahstra Cabinet follows the resignation of Dhananjay Munde, a fellow NCP heavyweight. He had stepped down as the food, civil supplies and consumer protection minister in March after the arrest of his close aide Walmik Karad in sarpanch Santosh Deshmukh murder case.
After taking the oath as a Maharashtra minister, Chhagan Bhujbal said, “As it is said, ‘everything is well if it ends well’. I have handled every responsibility, from the home ministry to everything. Whatever responsibility I’ll be given, that will be alright. It’s the prerogative of the CM…”
Meanwhile, Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde congratulated Chhagan Bhujbal on taking the oath as minister on Tuesday. Shinde said Bhujbal had also been a minister earlier and had led various departments.
“He is an experienced leader…I congratulate him and the state government will greatly benefit from his experience…,” Eknath Shinde said.
Who is Chhagan Bhujbal?
Bhujbal has had a distinguished and eventful political career spanning several decades. Bhujbal is an MLA from Yeola in the Nashik district of Maharashtra.
In the past, Bhujbal served as a cabinet minister, including as deputy CM, in different governments.
Bhujbal, who belongs to the Mali community, is known for disgruntlement. In 2023, Bhujbal’s statements during the Maratha agitation for reservations, had not gone down well with Mahayuti government led by Eknath Shinde. Bhujbal—then a minister—openly targeted Maratha leader Manoj Jarange Patil.
He offered to quit from the cabinet on November 16, 2023.
Bhujbal was not included when Fadnavis first expanded his cabinet in December last year. At the time, his exclusion from the cabinet had drawn public disappointment from the seasoned leader, a prominent OBC face in the state.