Bhujbal is likely to be assigned the Food and Civil Supplies portfolio, a position left vacant after the resignation of Dhananjay Munde.
Senior NCP leader and OBC stalwart Chhagan Bhujbal was sworn in as a cabinet minister in the Devendra Fadnavis-led Mahayuti government on Tuesday (May 20) at Raj Bhavan. He was sworn in by Maharashtra Governor C P Radhakrishnan at Raj Bhavan.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, his deputies Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar also present at the event.
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“Today, I have taken oath as Maharashtra minister. I want to thank CM Devendra Fadnavi, Deputy CMs Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar and other party members. I also want to thank PM Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for this responsibility. I will make sure to fulfill my duties,” said Bhujbal.
Bhujbal, 77, inclusion 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.
It is pertinent to mention that Fadnavis expanded his five-month-old cabinet, with the induction of NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal as a minister.
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.
Bhujbal, who had earlier served as Deputy Chief Minister and held portfolios such as Public Works and Home, is a prominent face in state politics and commands significant support among OBC communities. His return is being seen as a strategic move to bolster the NCP’s representation and stabilize the internal dynamics of the ruling alliance.
About Chhagan Bhujbal
Chhagan Bhujbal is a prominent politician from Maharashtra. He was born on 15 October 1947. He is an MLA from Yeola Assembly Constituency in Nashik district. He worked as a vegetable vendor in Byculla Market in Mumbai in his early life. He has obtained a diploma in engineering.
Bhujbal started his political career with the Shiv Sena in the 1960s and remained with this party for about 25 years. He was elected as a Shiv Sena MLA from Mazagaon in 1985 and won from this seat twice. In 1991, he left the party and joined the Indian National Congress due to differences with Shiv Sena on the issue of OBC reservation during the Mandal movement. Later, when Sharad Pawar formed the NCP in 1999, Bhujbal went with him. He became the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister of Maharashtra in the Congress-NCP coalition government in the same year.
Bhujbal served as minister in various ministries such as Home, Public Works (PWD), Food and Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs. In 2016, Bhujbal was arrested in a money laundering case, due to which he remained in jail for two years. He later got bail. Bhujbal was angry at not getting a place in the Maharashtra Cabinet in 2024 and had targeted Ajit Pawar.
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