Chandrashekhar Bawankule further expressed gratitude to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar for including Bhujbal in the cabinet
Chandrashekhar Bawankule
Maharashtra Minister and State BJP Chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Tuesday welcomed the inclusion of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal in the state cabinet, reported news agency ANI.
Speaking to reporters, Bawankule said, "Chhagan Bhujbal is known as an OBC leader and the inclusion of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal in the cabinet will strengthen the Maharashtra government," reported ANI.
He further expressed gratitude to Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister and NCP chief Ajit Pawar for including Bhujbal in the cabinet.
Bawankule added, "Chhagan Bhujbal will play a major role in fulfilling the resolve of 'Viksit Maharashtra'," reported ANI.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday expanded his five-month-old cabinet with the induction of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal as a minister.
With Bhujbal's induction, the state government has 39 ministers, including 19 from the BJP, Shiv Sena 11 and NCP nine.
Bhujbal, 77, was sworn in by Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan in the presence of Deputy Chief Ministers Ajit Pawar and Eknath Shinde and other senior leaders.
"All's well that ends well," the veteran leader said on the occasion, adding that he did not aspire for any particular portfolio.
Bhujbal, who has had a distinguished and eventful political career spanning several decades, 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.
His induction in the cabinet follows the resignation of Dhananjay Munde, a fellow NCP heavyweight who 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.
Born on October 15, 1947, in Nashik, Bhujbal's political career began with the Shiv Sena in the 1980s, winning the Mazgaon assembly seat (Mumbai) in 1986 and 1990.
He served as Mumbai's mayor from 1990 to 1991, building a reputation as an orator, and his early loyalty to Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray defined his rise in the party.
Bhujbal left the Shiv Sena in 1991, citing Thackeray's alleged opposition to the implementation of recommendations of the Mandal Commission, and joined the Congress, and by 1999, he aligned with Sharad Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party (NCP).
He served as Deputy Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 1999 to 2003, focusing on OBC issues. His shift to the NCP strengthened his influence among OBCs, though it drew criticism from former allies.
(With inputs from ANI)
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