NCP's Chhagan Bhujbal Out Of Cabinet, Opposition Lends A Shoulder

Angry at his removal from the Maharashtra cabinet reshuffle, senior NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal stepped on party president Ajit Pawar’s toes and asked him if he was a "toy in his hands". He alleged that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis favoured his appointment to the cabinet.

Bhujbal, a former state minister, claimed that he was invited to stand for the Lok Sabha elections in May, but his candidature was never confirmed. He added that he has recently won a seat in Rajya Sabha from Yeola.

"I took up the offer to contest Lok Sabha polls from Nashik. Earlier this year, when I was seeking membership of the Rajya Sabha, I was asked to contest the assembly elections. I had received an Rajya Sabha seat eight days back, and I declined. They didn’t give it to me then they are giving it (Rajya Sabha seat). Do you play with a toy? he told reporters in Nashik.

Bhujbal said he was not upset about not being elected to the council of ministers, but accused him of being humiliated by Pawar’s treatment.

"Some people were wronged because I spoke my mind. Ajit dada, Praful Patel and Sunil Tatkare all speak only to one another. "Both Fadnavis and (Chandrakant) Bawankule himself insisted on my name appearing in the cabinet," he said.

Bhujbal told reporters who had voted him out of the political developments, ‘I’ll have to find out.

Following rumours that his ‘jahan nahi chaina, wahan nahi rehna’ (You do not need to remain in one place where no peace is present) comment the day before could lead to a split in the NCP, Bhujbal said he would address the occasion on Wednesday after consulting party officials and residents of Yeola seat, where he had swept the recently concluded state Assembly elections with the opposition support.