NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal – sulking after claiming his party denied him a ministerial berth in the new Maharashtra government – was dealt a slap on the wrist by party boss Ajit Pawar.
In his first public reaction on this issue, Mr Pawar said “sometimes new people have to be given a chance” and said (without naming Mr Bhujbal), “It is not right… to create misunderstandings.”
He also seemed to hint at a solution that might satisfy Mr Bhujbal – who was among the 40+ MLAs to side with him in the rebellion last year against NCP founder Sharad Pawar.
“… we have also thought about giving a chance to older people at the centre,” Ajit Pawar said, indicating the 77-year-old OBC leader might be given a post in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s cabinet.
“Some people are expressing anger because they were not taken in the cabinet… but sometimes new people have to be given a chance. It is not right to unnecessarily create misunderstandings,” he said Monday afternoon.
“… we have also thought about how we can give a chance to (senior) people at the centre instead of giving them another chance (in the state government). Ajit Pawar will never disrespect others… but sometimes it is not right to unnecessarily create misunderstandings.”
Ajit Pawar’s NCP is part of Mr Modi’s BJP-led government at the state (as part of the ruling Mahayuti alliance) and federal (as part of the National Democratic Alliance) levels. In return for the support of its 41 MLAs, the party has been given, so far, nine ministerial berths.
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However, none of those berths fell to Mr Bhujbal, who was earlier the state’s Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Protection Minister. Mr Bhujbal – who has sway among the state’s OBC voters – responded with a fierce swipe at Ajit Pawar and another senior NCP leader, Praful Patel.
“Ajit Pawar and Praful Patel had said they will talk to me about a ministerial berth. But they did not… no one from Ajit Pawar or Praful Patel’s office called me. I am not a toy in their hands,” he said in Nashik.
Mr Bhujbal is the MLA from Yevla in Nashik district.
READ | “Not Your Toy”: Chhagan Bhujbal To Ajit Pawar On Cabinet Snub
Mr Bhujbal has claimed that his appointment to the state cabinet had, in fact, been cleared by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, but that his NCP colleagues held back on his nomination.
“Fadnavis wanted me… (state BJP chief Chandrashekhar) Bawankule told me that till the end Fadnavis was trying to push for me…” he raged, “The way I was treated was objectionable.”
Mr Bhujbal then indicated he expected to be compensated for this snub, and the time he was overlooked for a Rajya Sabha seat when available, which was then filled by Ajit Pawar’s wife, Sunetra.
Mr Pawar had maintained silence amid Mr Bhujbal’s complaints and protests, by the latter’s supporters, in Pune and the Pawar stronghold of Baramati, and even through speculation Chhagan Bhujbal could return to Sharad Pawar’s side, start his own party, or join the BJP.
On Sunday, representatives of various OBC groups – who are campaigning against activist Manoj Jarange’s demand for quotas for the Maratha community – met Mr Bhujbal. “They expressed shock over my exclusion from the ministry and said they would back me for whatever stand I take,” he said.
Mr Bhujbal wasn’t the only big name to be dropped from this cabinet; his NCP colleague Dilip Walse-Patil, and Sudhir Mungantiwar and Vijaykumar Gavit of the BJP, also found no place.
READ | NCP’s Chhagan Bhujbal Out Of Cabinet, Opposition Lends Shoulder
The drama surrounding Mr Bhujbal has been picked up on by the opposition, which has made suitably sympathetic comments and subtle overtures to the OBC leader, including former Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray and the Congress’ five-time MLA Nitin Raut offering condolences.
Even the NCP faction led by Sharad Pawar has expressed sympathy.
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